Secretly Yours
by rucabear
Summary: The Specialists left on a mission after breaking up with the Winx Club and breaking their hearts. When they finally return, they find that their beloved Winx Club hasn't been sitting around waiting for them after they left. They have jobs, boyfriends, and... kids? Oh, and they've forgotten how to do magic. When the world needs them, can they be heroes again? POLL ON PROFILE!
1. Prologue

**Even if you don't plan on reading this to the end and the first sentence drives you away, _PLEASE TAKE THE POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE!_ And maybe reviewing saying why you didn't read it. I can take flames.**

 **I need baby names, so review with some of those as well. Let me give y'all an idea what I'm looking for. I'll post this list next chapter too.**

 **Bloom- she's having twins, a boy who looks like her and acts like Sky and a girl who looks like Sky and acts like her, I plan on giving them some basic Earth names, you know like nineties movies stuff**

 **Stella- she's also having twins, a girl that looks like Brandon and she's dark and loud and a boy that looks like Stella and he's light and quiet, I'm thinking some weird fancy names that have something to do with the sun and moon (she's sun, he's moon)**

 **Flora- she's having triplets, two girls and one boy, and they would have set names, you know names that mean something in a set and preferably in Spanish**

 **Tecna- she's having a boy, probably a Victorian old-fashioned name instead of something super high-tech because I like contrast like that (he was originally gonna be a girl named Moira or Dorothy)**

 **Aisha- she's having a boy so just something watery and Androsian, it was originally gonna be Darrius but I don't know, it has nothing to do with water but he's a sweet little cinnamon roll if that helps anything**

 **Musa- check the poll on my page**

* * *

The Specialists showed up at Alfea on a school day, which was the first sign that something was wrong.

"Maybe we have a mission," Aisha suggested as they walked out of the front gate to greet their boyfriends, who had for some reason parked the Owl outside of Alfea.

Tecna shook her head, "Miss Faragonda would be the one briefing us if this were a mission- not the boys."

Bloom shrugged. "Miss F's the one who told us to come down here."

"But she didn't give us a mission," Tecna argued.

"The boys are right here. Let's just ask them," Flora intervened as they walked up to the Owl, Red Fountain's largest ship.

The six Specialists walked out and the six fairies ran into their arms as usual. But this was not a usual visit.

"Winx, we have to talk," said Sky after he had embraced Bloom.

Bloom laughed. "That sounds like a breakup." At the serious look on his face, she stopped laughing. "This isn't a breakup, right?"

The blond prince sighed, taking a step back from the fairy of the Dragon Flame. "It kind of has to be."

"Sky, what are you talking about?"

Riven answered bluntly, "We're going on a mission, so we have to break up."

"What?!" Stella screeched, clinging to Brandon more tightly.

Brandon sighed. "I'm sorry, Stella, but it has to be this way."

"Hold up," Aisha interrupted before the Winx went into hysterics. She took a few steps back from Nabu to face the Specialists as a whole. "I need a better explanation than that. Start from the beginning."

Nabu took a step toward her. "We can't tell you much-"

She cut him off, "Then tell us what you can."

Sky took over the conversation. "We're going on a top secret mission for two years. We're going to be undercover the whole time and the only person from our old lives we can contact is Codatorta, our mission director."

"Old lives?" Bloom asked, hands planted firmly on her hips.

Sky put his hands on her shoulders- she only tensed up more- and said, "I'm sorry, Bloom, but once we step on the Owl, we become different people. It's for your safety as well as ours."

Flora cradled Helia's face in her hands and asked, "Will it be dangerous?"

Helia opened his mouth to answer, but Sky answered for him, "We can't say."

Tecna stepped farther away from Timmy. "Well, when are you leaving?"

Timmy looked down and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

He looked up at her apologetically and said, "Now."

"Now?!" Stella shouted, screeching for a second time. She looked up at Brandon for confirmation and he only nodded.

Musa crossed her arms and said, "This still doesn't answer the whole break up thing."

Sky sighed and rubbed his temples. "Staying together the whole time is just not fair to you girls-"

Bloom spoke over him, "Not fair? What's not fair is you telling us this now instead of when you found out. What's not fair is you making the decision that breaking up is for the best without consulting us first. What's not fair is you leaving!"

Flora started sobbing in Helia's arms. The boys fell awkwardly silent and they all turned away to give Flora and Helia their moment.

Musa led Riven over to the edge of the forest where their quiet whispers escalated into loud shouts that ended with Musa stomping back to the dorms and Riven storming into the Owl.

Aisha turned to run after her, but Nabu grabbing her hand stopped her.

"Aisha, I just want you to know that if you wish, our betrothal will still stand when I get back... if you'll still have me."

His eyes were pleading, but her eyes were cold.

She glared and said, "If I'll still have you? You're dumping me. And you're asking me to wait two years. I don't see myself having anything to do with this decision. You've obviously made up your mind."

"Aisha, wait-"

"I've gotta check on Musa. Have a nice trip."

With those words, Aisha ran back to Alfea to find Musa, leaving Nabu to look after her longingly.

Sky walked up to his friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Nabu. She'll come around."

Bloom overheard his comment and butted in, "When? When he's gone? Is that what you're hoping for? For her to see it from his point of view and sit and wait for him like a devoted girlfriend?"

"Bloom, I have to go on this mission. It's my duty."

She huffed, "Duty? Is that what they call breakups nowadays? I cannot believe you how selfish you're being right now."

Bloom followed Musa and Aisha's lead and headed to Alfea's dormitories. Sky tried to run after her, but Nabu grabbed his shoulder. Sky was about to argue when Stella's high-pitched voice cut him off.

"So what now? You run off, get a new identity, and a new girlfriend?" the blonde princess asked her now ex-boyfriend. "Who is she? Is she prettier than me?"

Brandon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Impossible."

Stella sighed and fell into his hug, snaking her arms around his waist. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want me to go either."

"At least we agree," Stella mumbled against his bicep. They shared a long silence in each other's arms before Stella spoke up again. This time in a whisper, she said, "I'll wait for you."

Brandon pulled her back to look her in her topaz eyes. "No. Stella, I can't ask you to do that."

"You don't have to ask," Stella said, placing a loving hand on his cheek. "I'm yours, forever and always."

Brandon looked like he was trying to be upset about it, but his bittersweet smile gave him away. He just pulled Stella in for another hug.

Over by the gate, Tecna and Timmy were finishing up a conversation. She was leaning against Alfea's wall and he was making a lot of hand gestures to get his point across. After a second, Tecna just sighed and nodded solemnly, kissing him. It was a good kiss, a solid kiss. It was a goodbye kiss.

She walked him back to the Owl and just gave Timmy a small wave as he disappeared into the ship. Helia followed him. Tecna put an arm around Flora's shoulders; the nature fairy had stopped crying, but her body still shook with shuddering breaths and sobs. Tecna led her friend back to the dorms. Someone inside the ship called out to Brandon who shared one very long kiss with Stella before leaving. Stella stood and watched the Owl take off before running to catch up with Tecna and Flora.

Back in the room, Musa was pacing around the room, ranting about what Riven had yelled at her about to Aisha who was angrily butting in every once in a while. Bloom was packing a bag.

"The nerve!" Musa shouted as Tecna walked in with a sobbing Flora and a somber Stella.

"I know!" Aisha and Bloom chorused from opposite sides of the dorm.

"To get mad at me!"

"I know!" the girls chorused again.

Tecna sighed as she transferred the distraught Flora to Stella and walked over to her pacing roommate. Laying a hand on her shoulder, she said, "Musa, Timmy explained some of it to me. You have to understand this from Riven's perspective."

Musa whirled around, disconnecting Tecna and startling her. "I don't have to understand anything. He's the one who has to understand that I am _not_ his property."

Tecna put her hands up defensively. "No one said you are."

"He sure seems to think so," Musa argued, stalking away from Tecna and then marching back with more to say. "That he actually thought he had any right to raise his voice at me? Ha! I say damn him to the Omega Dimension! He actually got angry with me! With me! Who the hell does he think he is?! And for something I haven't even done! I would never- I could never- and for him to think I would- just because I said- and to get mad- I just can't-"

At this point, her rant turned into meaningless fragments of sentences as her hands started shaking more and more. Tecna realized where it was leading and reached out to pull her friend toward her and wrap her arms around her. Musa started crying in her arms.

"I can't believe he's really gone!" Musa cried into Tecna's shouldes. Tecna pet her long navy blue hair kindly as she let her friend get it all out.

Aisha and Bloom watched, suddenly more subdued than they were before in their righteous anger. On the couch, Stella had soothed Flora enough so that she had stopped sobbing and was instead looking forlornly out the window. Stella herself was looking worse for wear.

Aisha shared a look with Bloom from across the room as the technology fairy and music fairy embraced. The redhead had been packing to go to Gardenia, a bad habit of hers when the going gets tough, but had stopped after Musa started crying. Now Aisha could truly see how broken up her friend was about it. Bloom's eyes were hollow and cold, with little sign of their usual spark. Looking around, she saw that her friends were hollow husks without the loves they had come to depend on, including herself, though she was afraid to admit it. If only there was a way to cheer everyone up...

Aisha sighed when she realized what she'd have to do.

"Girls," declared the water fairy, clearing her throat, "let's go shopping."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Owl, the Specialists had gone to their stations, excluding Sky who was pacing and repeatedly running a hand through his hair. Timmy, who was driving, looked to Brandon pleadingly. The squire sighed and approached his anxious prince.

"Sky, stop pacing. You're distracting Timmy."

The blond looked up at his oldest friend and asked, "Do you think Bloom hates me now?"

The entire ship stilled as the other Specialists waited for the answer to the question they had all been wondering. The silence was deafeningly insecure and afraid. With all the big missions and battles they take on, it was easy to forget they're really just teenage boys with teenage girlfriends who have no idea what they're doing.

"Honestly, Sky? I don't know," Brandon answered. "It's not likely- I mean, you're Sky and Bloom- but you did handle that really badly. Knowing Bloom- and I know Bloom- she will be angry for a while before forgiving you. Not that it matters, because we won't be back for two years."

Sky ran a hand over his face. "I just- I want to tell her. I want to tell her all of it. I want to tell her about Whisperia and Blue of Lynphea and the terrorists and the princesses and the mission. After the first, I never want to keep another secret from Bloom."

Brandon put up a hand to stop his train of thought. "But you can't. And you know why. Don't torture yourself over something you can't change. From this point on, you must be solely focused on protecting the princesses and nothing else. This is our duty now."

"Easy for you to say," Sky remarked bitterly. "I heard Stella promise to wait for you."

Nabu sucked in a shaky breath, reminding Brandon that all the boys were listening in. Brandon grabbed Sky angrily by the arm and led him to the backroom of the Owl for Wind Riders and other equipment. Waiting first for the automatic door to slide shut, Brandon turned on his prince with a fire in his eyes that Sky had never seen directed towards himself before.

"May I remind you," seethed the squire through clenched teeth, "that you volunteered for this mission and that it is my job to follow you to the ends of the dimension. Don't start pitying yourself and turning on us when it's your fault we're on this mission anyway."

Sky stared at Brandon with wide eyes and just nodded hesitantly.

Brandon sighed, "I'm sorry, Sky. I understand why you did what you did. I just- it might have just cost us the girls of our dreams. Opportunity of a lifetime or not, if I never get back to her, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Sky nodded again, this time in understanding. "You'll get back to her, Brandon. I swear on my life."

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Your life is what I'm here to protect, so don't just throw that oath around like a sack of potatoes."

The two boys laughed with each other before heading back to the main deck and rejoining the rest of the Specialists. A long journey was laid out before them, so it was best they go into it not bearing any ill will.

* * *

 **Just a reminder to review to share any and all of your opinions with me and also to take the poll on my page. It is seriously important. In the meantime, I'll try to post soon, so please stay tuned and enjoy the story.**

 **(P.S. If you like this type of story, check out my community that is also called Secretly Yours. All the stories there are like this one. PM me if you feel your story belongs in my community. Chances are it does and I'll add it.)**

 **EDIT: I NEED BABY NAMES! PLEASE REVIEW WITH BABY NAMES! ANY AND ALL IDEAS WILL BE CONSIDERED!**

 **Love, Ru😘**


	2. We're What!

**A quick reminder to _take the poll on my profile_ because it is super important. Oh, and review with different types of baby names for each girl. That is all. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Tecna**

It started with Bloom, as most things are wont to start. It had been a week since the Specialists had left to Great-Dragon-knows-where to do Great-Dragon-knows-what with nothing but a "trust me" and an "I love you" in lieu of an explanation. We Winx girls were tough sixteen-year-olds as well as head-over-heels sixteen-year-olds, so against my better judgment, I trusted Timmy when he told me he would be gone for two years on a secret mission whose details were too classified to divulge even to his own girlfriend- who is a member of the Company of Light by the way, but whatever. So there we were, sitting down to breakfast in the cafeteria, solemnly eating our breakfast, when Bloom poured ketchup all over her toast and ate it. That was the first red flag. We ignored it.

Later that day, Flora raised her voice at Stella for knocking over her plant. This caught our attention. She apologized profusely afterward, but the event lingered in all of our minds for the rest of the day.

The next morning, while walking out of my bedroom to head to the cafeteria for breakfast, I had to rush to the restroom before I vomited all over Bloom and Flora's carpet. This definitely did not go unnoticed. It qualified as enough reason for me to visit the nurse. While there, I was told some news that I was not at all prepared to hear.

"Tecna, I've run some tests, and I believe you're pregnant."

I just stared at Nurse Ofelia, unblinking and unthinking. Seriously, for the first time in my life, my mind was drawing a blank.

"I'm sorry, I'm what?"

The nurse set me with a somewhat disapproving look that I at the time did not have the mental capacity to be ashamed of. I was too busy spiraling.

"You're pregnant, and for a few weeks now. I know this is a surprise, dear, but I've got two bottles here and you have a big decision to make."

I looked down at her hands. In one, there were prenatal vitamins. In the other, there was… oh.

"Um… can I have some time to think about this?" I asked, a whirling abyss of despair appearing in my gut where I knew a baby now was. Oh my Dragon.

Nurse Ofelia nodded sympathetically and helped me hop off the table. She bustled into her office, leaving me with my thoughts. The first thing I did when I finally gathered myself was run out of the door and as fast as I could to my dorm. I wanted to talk to the Winx, but I realized that they would all be in their second-period classes at that time, so I slowed down to a walk to calm myself down.

 _What am I going to do?_ I thought as I slowly climbed the staircase to our dorm wing. The decision Nurse Ofelia presented me with played tug-o-war in my mind. _I wish someone else could make this decision for me. I'm not ready for this. My parents always made the big decisions for me. Oh, Dragon, my parents. I have to tell my parents. What will they say? They'll probably disown me. No, don't be ridiculous, they wouldn't disown me. Would they disown my baby? Baby. Wow. There's a baby inside of me. I'm pregnant. With a baby. That's… wow. I made a baby. Well, not just me, Timmy was- oh my Dragon, Timmy. What will Timmy say? Nothing, because he'll be gone for two years, somewhere far away. How am I going to do this when the father of my child is AWOL? I can't raise a child on my own, I'm sixteen. I'm not alone though, I have the girls. Oh Dragon, the girls. What will the girls say? No, they'll support me, they always have, no matter my decision. But what's my decision?_

Before I knew it, I was in my dorm room. I curled up on the closest bed, which happened to be Bloom's, and prepared myself to wait until lunch to talk to the girls. There was no way I was going to classes with all this on my mind. I resigned myself to being alone with my thoughts for a few hours when the doors to Stella's room opened and that shrill voice whined like a voice from the Heavens shiniest ng down into my despair.

"Tecna, I think you gave me a stomach bug, because after you left, I threw up so I'm skipping my classes today."

"Stella!" I cried, throwing myself at the blonde and enthusiastically wrapping my arms around her. I had never been so happy to see her before.

"Woah, Tec, is everything okay? I haven't seen you this excited to see me since… ever. What did the nurse say? Is it fatal? Don't touch me!"

I chuckled, but it was dry and humorless. "Not fatal. Not for me anyway… I hope. Oh my Dragon, what if I die?"

Stella held me at arm's length to scan me over. She was nearly a head taller than me, so I shrunk underneath her topaz gaze. "You're scaring me, Tec. What did the nurse say?"

I took a deep breath before looking her in the eye and saying, "Stella, I'm pregnant."

That unblinking and unthinking feeling I had when I first heard the news was now mirrored in Stella's yellow eyes. For a second, time stood still as reality crashed down around me. I waited for what felt like an eternity for Stella to answer.

"Do you think-" she licked her lips and tried again when her voice cracked- "d-do you think _I_ could be pregnant, Tecna?"

Those red flags were suddenly being woven together to create a very alarming red tapestry in my mind.

"I- I don't know, Stella. You'd have to go to the nurse," I said, feeling the tiniest bit resentful that she was making it about herself. I let that feeling go as quickly as it came. She had every reason to be worried, as did I.

She looked down at me with fear and uncertainty. "Will you go with me? I really think I might be… I might be…" She couldn't seem to get the word out as tears started welling in her eyes.

I squeezed her hand as comfortingly as I could and said, "Hey, hey, don't jump to any conclusions. Whatever happens, we'll face it together, okay?"

Stella nodded sniffling. As awful as it was, I kind of hoped she was pregnant because I didn't want to do this alone. For the second time that day, I found myself marching down to the nurse's office with a terrifying question in mind.

* * *

 **Stella**

I was positive- positively pregnant. I felt like I was free-falling as a thousand things flew through my mind, from my parents to the other girls' questionable symptoms to Brandon, so far away in another realm for such a long time with no idea that our child was growing inside of me.

I always imagined that finding out that I was pregnant would be a more… I don't know, 'maternal' feeling. In reality, it was just scary, like I was in danger. Then again, I never imagined I'd be finding out I was pregnant at seventeen. I felt like making a bad joke, a coping mechanism I usually saved for when our odds of saving the Magix Dimension were slim. I almost felt the urge to laugh that I, Princess Stella of Solaria, Fairy of the Shining Sun, was scared of a baby when I had faced the most treacherous villains in all the realms. _But, oh my Dragon, a baby?_

Tecna must have picked up that reality had finally hit me, because she squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile. The nurse was saying something about bottles and decisions, but all I could think about was how Tecna had to go through all of this alone. My eyes spilled over with tears as the nurse headed to her office and I gave into the urge to pull Tecna into a hug, throwing my arms around my purple-haired friend.

We just sat there sobbing for a bit before deciding to head back to the dorms. Once there we got into our pajamas, cried some more, and ate some disgusting ice cream in flavors I never thought I would crave.

* * *

 **Bloom**

"Hey, Tec, we missed you and Stella at lunch. What did the nurse say?" I asked as I walked into the dorm. Stella and Tecna were sitting on the couch with blotchy red faces, runny mascara, and buckets of ice cream that made my stomach rumble even though I just ate. For a second, I was worried that Tecna and Stella had spent the morning crying about the boys leaving, but the look in Tecna's eyes when she looked up told me that this was much bigger than separation anxiety.

"Tecna, what's wrong?" I asked, this time more seriously. Behind me, Flora and Aisha stilled to hear what she would say. Musa popped her head out of her bedroom door, sensing the tension in the room.

She shared a look with Stella who nodded, before looking back at me and saying, "Girls... I'm pregnant."

The silence that followed lasted for infinity before I found my voice.

"What?"

Stella took in a shaky breath and confessed, "I am too."

Across the room, Musa gasped and her hands flew to her abdomen. "Oh my Dragon. That's why..."

Flora spoke up quietly, "I think I should go to the nurse."

"Based on your recent behavior, I believe you should all go to nurse," Tecna suggested. "Especially you, Bloom."

"Why me?"

Tecna stood up from the couch, searching for the right words. "You've been acting the most... pregnant. Long before the boys left."

"What, but that's-" I suddenly remembered a night a month before the Specialists told us they were leaving. Oh. Oh no. I can't be- but me and Sky were- oh no.

Stella stood up from the couch and grabbed my hand, offering, "We'll go down there with you. Like Tecna said earlier, whatever happens, we'll do this together."

I looked into my best friend's yellow eyes about ready to cry as I prepared myself to find out if I was really pregnant at sixteen.

* * *

 **Musa**

I was really pregnant at sixteen. I stared at Nurse Ofelia in disbelief as she talked to me about pills and a decision. Next to me, Bloom, Flora, and Aisha wore similar expressions on their faces. I can't believe I'm pregnant.

Standing awkwardly by the door were Tecna and Stella, looking empathetic and supportive. In that moment, the realization that I had the best friends in the entire Magix Dimension hit me like a convergence spell in the gut. If I had to go through this with anyone, I was glad it was these girls here. I sent a small smile across the room to Tecna and Stella as I started tearing up.

Nurse Ofelia said she'd leave us with our decision while she summoned Headmistress Faragonda. First, she walked over to Tecna and Stella.

She started to ask, "Have you decided-"

"I'm keeping it-" Stella affirmed hurriedly, hands flying to protectively hover over her womb.

Behind Stella, Tecna nodded in agreement. "I- I'm keeping mine too."

Nurse Ofelia nodded solemnly before walking out of the room to leave us with the weight of the decision we had to make. I worried that in a few minutes Headmistress Faragonda would be in here with us, expecting an answer. I dreaded the inevitable disappointment Miss F would have for our mistake. I had always looked up to her and to have her disappointed in me would be crushing, almost as crushing as having to tell my dad. Quiet sobbing broke me out of my thoughts.

"Aisha, what's wrong?" Flora asked, placing a hand on the water fairy's shoulder.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Aisha asked almost hysterically. "Flora, we're pregnant. At _sixteen_. What the hell are we going to do? I'm not ready to be a mother. I don't know the first thing about raising a kid. Hell, I was an only child; I don't even know how to work with kids! There's a baby inside of me!"

Aisha voicing it made it all feel too real. It pushed the whole room into a silence that was finally broken by Bloom whispering, "She gave us an option, you know?"

The weight of that statement felt heavier than the entire situation itself.

"I'm sixteen," Bloom whispered, more to herself than to us.

Stella crossed the room and grabbed Bloom's hand saying, "No matter what you decide, I'll stand by you. All of you," she added, sweeping over us all with a look of true devotion and friendship. I gave her a small smile in appreciation. She nodded.

"I'm keeping them," Flora said immediately.

Bloom bit her lip, looked up at the ceiling, and then looked to all of us and said, "Me too."

I laughed nervously. "No pressure, right?"

At the pitying look I got from my friends, I realized I had a big decision to make, but that was difficult with Aisha sobbing so loudly into her hands.

"I'm going for a walk," I said abruptly, hopping off my cot and marching out the door.

* * *

 **Flora**

As she tried to make her decision, Aisha voiced her entire thought process out loud to us. She was mainly concerned with what her parents would say if she kept the baby- _"Teenage pregnancy is unladylike!"_ \- and what they would say if she aborted it- _"Abortions are unladylike!"._ Bloom pointed out that either way, her parents would disapprove, so the decision was actually entirely up to Aisha. Free from her parents' hold, she made the decision to keep her baby after a lot of deliberation.

It made me realize how lucky I was to have parents that I knew would support me no matter what decision I made and love me unequivocally. What I was mostly worried about was Helia. The father of my child would be somewhere far away for the next two years and because of mission protocol, I would have no way to contact him. The desire to let him know was eating me up inside. I was seriously contemplating flying up to Red Fountain, marching into Codatorta's office, and demanding to speak to Helia when Musa slammed the school infirmary's door open and announced that she was keeping her baby. Not long after, Headmistress Faragonda came in.

"Hello, girls," she greeted disapprovingly. The linoleum tiles were suddenly very interesting to me as I avoided her stern gaze.

Stella waved sheepishly. "Hey, Miss F. So you've heard?"

Nurse Ofelia came in behind her with her nose in the air. Faragonda leveled us with a look over the rims of her spectacles as she said, "Yes, I have. You girls have accomplished quite the miracle: six simultaneous pregnancies."

The way she said it didn't feel miraculous; it felt like a shame.

Stella shrugged in a failed attempt to be casual. "What're the odds?"

Tecna answered in a small voice from behind Stella, "I ran the statistics and they're very slim."

I couldn't help my small smile at how easily I could read my friends' behaviors. I knew their coping mechanisms like the back of my hand. Stella cracks jokes under duress and Tecna retreats into her palace of logic and facts. Musa distances herself from the situation mentally and takes some time to cool off, Aisha gets angry and blames others, and Bloom runs away- literally. I write bad poems. I knew what I would be doing when I got back to the dorm. At the moment a terribly written stanza was floating through my head.

"We have to discuss the options, Winx," Miss Faragonda said, taking a seat in a plastic visitor's chair.

"We've all decided to keep our babies," I said. It felt very weird to talk to my Headmistress about my pregnancy, but I knew it was necessary as uncomfortable as it was. I found myself wishing that the ground would swallow me whole and then wondering if my powers over nature would extend that far. Miss Faragonda's voice pulled me back to the matter at hand.

"That narrows down the options, but understand that it is not at all easier. I am going assume that the Specialists are the fathers?"

We all tentatively nodded.

"Well, that makes things significantly more difficult, seeing as they are away on their top secret mission." She sat in thought for a moment before continuing, "Obviously you must give up crime-fighting. And you can't practice dexterous magic while pregnant, which takes continuing your schooling out of the picture."

It never occurred to me that I would have to drop out of Alfea, but I knew Miss Faragonda was right that we couldn't keep practicing such difficult magic, especially at this stage of the pregnancy.

"Whatever you think is best, Miss F," Musa said, leaning against the wall.

"It also may be in everyone's best interest that the public not sees you all like this."

Bloom tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Our headmistress sighed, removing her spectacles and rubbing her temples. I never realized how old she was, but now I saw just how long she had been leading the school. In that moment, I wholly trusted her with my future.

"As royalty and as icons, the Winx Club has an image to uphold, an image of purity and hope. Seeing you pregnant so young will strike a chord in the public eye, because as princesses you should be lawful and as heroes you should be able to fight. Not to mention the press would have a field day with this."

"So... what do we do?" Aisha asked.

Faragonda stood, heading for the door.

"Winx, call your parents. I have some favors to cash in."

* * *

 **Aisha**

My parents were furious, just as I had predicted they would be. I got a long speech about ladylike behavior before they finally asked how I was dealing with it. I can't really complain. I overheard Stella's conversation with her dad, and from what it sounded like, he didn't care at all how she was dealing with it. She took it all in stride. I tried to too.

Headmistress Faragonda came to our dorm with passports and a fake mission. She got the idea from the Specialists' mission, which was admittedly unsettling, but basically, we would tell the public that we were on a mission for at least two years and could not say where we were going or contact anyone while there. I tried not to wonder if the Specialists' mission was a front as well.

In reality, we would be going to Earth, Bloom's hometown of Gardenia specifically. The headmistress asked Bloom's parents if we could stay with them and Mike and Vanessa graciously agreed.

"So what do we do when we get there?" Stella asked, walking out of her room with her arms full of at least twenty magically shrunken suitcases. I, on the other hand, just had the one and a travel backpack.

Faragonda looked us all over with something that seemed too much like goodbye in her eyes and said, "Live your lives."

"You mean raise our kids," Tecna clarified, walking out of her room with Musa.

Headmistress Faragonda smiled fondly at the technology fairy. "I mean raise your kids, chase your careers, fall in love, find domestic bliss, and never forget about magic. But don't reveal it."

We were quiet for a while as we looked around our dorm for what we knew could very well be our last time. I had lots of good memories from Alfea, so many that I was afraid I could never be as happy somewhere else. It was a haven for me in the middle of a very dark time when I thought I was totally alone. Alfea showed me that I'll always have friends in my corner. I looked over the dorm one more time and then the girls standing beside me. Alfea wasn't my true home, the Winx Club was. No matter where I go, I will always have them.

We shared sad smiles with each other as Headmistress Faragonda and Miss Griselda led us out to the shuttle waiting for us outside the front gates. I looked back at Alfea one last time.

Flora asked quietly, "What about the Specialists?"

Our headmistress patted her shoulder and said, "When they come back, I'll tell them where to find you. Until then, don't hold yourselves back from happiness."

We all joined in a big group hug before climbing onto the shuttle that would take us far far away from Magix to our new lives on Earth as pregnant teenagers. I sighed. What has become of the Winx Club?

Looking over my shoulder, I wondered briefly as the image of Magix grew smaller and smaller behind me if the Winx Club would ever return to where we first and last saw the fathers of our unborn children. I wondered if the Specialists would ever return to Magix as well.

* * *

 **I think the perspective switching will stop eventually. I'll either settle on one girl to narrate or do it in third person. Review on what you think I should do and what you think of the story so far. Also, let me know if you have a similar story, because I have a community for this trope. I'll try to update regularly.**

 **Please check my profile and take the poll to determine the name of Musa's daughter.**

 **EDIT: ALSO I REALLY NEED BABY NAMES! REVIEW WITH BABY NAMES! FLOOD ME WITH BABY NAMES FOR THE WINX and the trix BUT ESPECIALLY FOR THE WINX!**

 **EDIT: EDIT: Since I'm only getting baby names in the reviews and no input, how about with each name you suggest, you tell me some bonding moment or some moment of turmoil or any plot bunny really that you wish would happen in the story. If you have absolutely no ideas- I'm super accepting so don't be embarrassed or shy to suggest more than one- tell me how you would write the story or if you have written one, let me know. Any next gen story. I really wanna talk to you guys! Past this point, name ideas will not be considered without another idea with them.**

 **Love, Ru😘**


	3. Three Years Later

**THE WINNER OF THE POLL THAT DETERMINES MUSA'S DAUGHTER'S NAME WAS TESSITURA (or Tess for short). CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THIS LOVELY BABY NAME! Another poll is up now so please check that out.**

 **Help me determine the name of Icy's son by checking out the new poll on my profile page! That's right! You aren't done yet!**

 **Thank you, for all the baby name suggestions. I really appreciate the help. The Trix still need baby names, so don't stop sharing. Please bear with me and enjoy the story. Don't forget to review, even if it's just an emoji. :)**

 **Also, this is just as shout out to Nonas palace for keeping me on my toes about updating! Thanks, doll!**

* * *

 _Two years and nine months later..._

 **Flora**

I remember it was a noisier day than usual at the daycare. The kids were buzzing with the excitement of the ice cream party we had just had. Eddie was two now, meaning we had been away from Magix for over two years. The boys said they'd be gone for two years. They said they loved us and we should trust them.

"Auntie."

I felt a tugging on my skirt as I looked down and saw a head of dirty blond curls. Artemio, Stella's youngest, had a handful of the red fabric balled up in his pudgy fist and he was looking up at me with round yellow eyes.

"Hello, Arty. Do you need something?"

"Where's Lilly?"

I scanned the room for Apolline, his problematic twin sister, looking for a high brown ponytail held up with an obnoxiously pink scrunchie. Finally, my eyes landed on a little girl walking around the toy box grabbing all the toys and putting them back in, causing a big commotion with all the other kids.

"One moment, Arty. I think your sister is trying to monopolize the toy box."

I rushed over to Apolline and hurried to redistribute the toys before anyone started crying. The day was over and I just needed to get through pick-up without any issues. As the parents came through to sign out their toddlers, I couldn't help but notice all the fathers who came to get their kids.

My triplets were too young to start asking daddy questions, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Verano was already asking questions about Father's Day, and sooner or later Otoño and Primavera would catch up with her. The question for me was, would I ever be able to give them an answer?

The boys would be back in Magix around now, if they were telling the truth about the time allotment of their mission, but so much has changed. Would they like the kids? Would they be the same men they were when they left? Would they still love us?

 _No, Flora, stop being silly. Of course he loves me._

I took a deep breath to calm my swirling thoughts. Thankfully Bloom and Musa walked in the door at that moment so I was saved from my downward spiral.

"Hey, girls. How was work?" I said as I led them past the counter to where the kids were.

Bloom smiled as her twins ran to hug her around her legs. Musa grinned as well as Tessitura rushed to show her something she had colored earlier.

"It was good. There was some fundraiser going on, so the place was packed," Bloom said, looking just as ragged as she sounded. Her hair had started off in a ponytail but had now fallen into something in between and her uniform was covered in fruity stains. Her mascara was also smudged.

I waited until the kids ran to grab their things from the cubby holes to ask her, "Bloom, were you crying?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I was just telling Musa about how earlier I was thinking that now that Eddie's two, the Specialists should be back in Magix and- I don't know, I guess I'm not ready for what that might mean."

Musa nodded sympathetically. I tipped my head in confusion.

"What do you mean, Bloom?"

The redhead sighed. "I know he's the father of my children and I love him, but I can't help but be angry at him for not being here for this. I know he doesn't know- we didn't get to tell them- but I don't know if I can handle him just waltzing back into our lives like he was here the whole time when in reality I was changing diapers, I was fixing breakfast, I was working minimum wage, and I was raising our kids while he was off doing God-knows-what and I just- I'm sorry. That sounds so awful. It's stupid, I know."

Musa put a hand on her shoulder. "No, no, I get it. You want the kids to know their dad, but at the same time, you don't want all of this work to be for nothing. Trust me, no one can take these three years away from you."

I rubbed my arm sheepishly. "I was just scared he wouldn't even _want_ to come back into our lives."

Bloom gasped. "Flora, no! Helia would never abandon you or his children. In all the time I've known him, he was never the type to just leave when the going got tough. Especially not where you're involved."

Musa laughed dryly and added, "Yeah, that's more commitment than I'd ever get from Riven."

"No matter what, you'll always have us," Bloom promised, pulling Flora and Musa into a hug.

"Mother!" a little voice shouted. We turned as Tecna walked in the door and Eddie launched himself at her.

"Hello, darling. How was your party?"

The newly minted two-year-old babbled about the ice cream party as he went to get his things from his cubby. While Eddie was distracted, Tecna joined us in the group hug.

"I've had such a long day," the technology fairy groaned, squeezing her way into the middle.

We all laughed. I wasn't scared of what was to come because I knew that whatever came my way, I'd have these girls by my side.

* * *

 **Aisha**

Three years have passed since the boys went on their mission, since we found out we were pregnant, since we left for Earth. It was hard, living in Gardenia where nobody knew each other but everybody knew each other's business. People on the street looked down their noses at us once they heard our story, even more once we started showing. It was hard being an outcast, even with the girls and Bloom's parents and this nice fairy we met named Roxy standing with me. Being in the Winx Club had gotten me used to always being on the good side, being loved everywhere we went. In the beginning, I felt very alone, hating the world and the card I'd been dealt. As a water fairy, drowning wasn't a feeling I'd ever felt, but the feeling of having the whole world against me was pretty damn close.

We took fake last names- mine was Aisha Knowles- and fake backstories- we were pregnant teens who were sent for away to protect our families' reputations- and we had to give up magic for good. It was difficult throwing away such an integral part of my life, but Bloom and her parents helped us through it. While we were there, we met a nice fourteen-year-old girl named Roxy who worked at the Fruity Music Bar and gave us all jobs as waitresses while we tried to find more stable professions. Turns out, she was a fairy of animals, but it was a pretty uneventful discovery seeing as she decided to stick to her normal life on Earth. Still, it was nice to talk someone like us who wasn't judgmental of our condition.

Mike and Vanessa were kind, if inexperienced with pregnancy. They let us stay in their house until the end of the year because ten days before Christmas Bloom gave birth to bald and blue-eyed twins Alexander and Isabella Spears and the house got even smaller. We were already pushing our luck with a house full of six girls teetering on the edge of giving birth. Two babies added to the mix was what made us realize that we could not go on living like this once the other babies arrived. We spent the Christmas season house shopping. The one thing we were looking for was a place big enough for all of us to raise our kids, but the options seemed few and far between. We were getting nervous that we wouldn't find a place before we gave birth or, even worse, we would have to get separate places. Our worries weren't calmed until we received a tip from Flora's employer Mrs. Tildwater, the kindly old owner of the daycare Carriage House, that a large studio was being sold about a block away from the daycare. It had two floors, the bottom floor decorated as some sort of giant office/playroom and the top floor set up as four separate living spaces. Apparently, it was supposed to be some modernized daycare/learning center that was driven out of business by the more old-fashioned Carriage House and was being sold for cheap because it was so out of the way of the city. It was everything we wanted, away from the turmoil of city life but close enough to the lives we had started for ourselves.

We moved in right after Christmas, which was lucky because January saw the birth of little Tessitura Liu, Musa's daughter. She had navy blue hair that stuck up like static and sparkly magenta eyes that made us all a little nostalgic. The February following hosted the arrival of my little Bay Knowles, a long and thin baby with a full head of curls. After Bay, they were practically born one on top of the other. Next was Flora (Lopez) with triplets that each had thick heads of different hair colors: Verano had black hair, Otoño had brown hair, and Primavera had honey blonde hair. Then there was Stella's twins Apolline and Artemio Diaz, the most photogenic newborns I had ever seen; like yin and yang, Lilly was dark and outgoing and Arty was light and subdued. Lastly came Tecna's little Eddison Moore with a fine shock of pink hair on his head that scared the doctor half to death. Three years later and a house full of teenagers and two-year-olds was as crowded as it sounds. Still, we found moments of respite.

"Bay! Share with Tess!" I called from the patio, a sunhat on my head and a glass of lemonade in my hand. I clinked my glass with Flora's as she came to sit with me and the rest of the Winx.

Bay looked up from the sandbox with a smile that melts my heart every time and said, "Okay, Momma."

Had you asked me three years ago where a saw myself at nineteen years old, I would have told you I'd be preparing to take the throne of my realm with Nabu at my side. I would never have imagined myself here, drinking lemonade with the girls while watching our two-year-olds splash in their kiddie pools and play in the sandbox in the backyard of our shared home on Earth with no Specialists in sight. Then again, life has a funny way of playing things out.

"And so then I told him, I may be his secretary, but I am not and never will be his plaything," Tecna said, ending her story. "Then I quit."

Bloom leaned forward in her chair and asked, "You quit? Just like that?"

Tecna took a sip of her lemonade and answered, "Of course. I wasn't going to let that man treat me like that."

"No, of course, it's just," Bloom paused as she searched for her thought. "Where are you going to find another job?"

Tecna shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll figure something out. I think the law firm near Eddie's speech therapist is hiring. It's kind of disappointing though. The I.T. guy at my old job was kind of cute."

Flora blushed and giggled, "Oh goodness!"

That made us all laugh, but I noticed Stella's laugh was somewhat nervous. I glanced at my friend, who was wearing the most extravagant sunhat of us all, and her topaz eyes were darting around anxiously. Sensing my friend's discomfort, I announced, "Stella, come to the kitchen with me to get some more lemonade."

"Sure. Girls, watch Lilly and Arty for me. I don't want them switching clothes again."

In the kitchen, Stella busied herself with looking for the pitcher of lemonade.

"Stella, what's wrong?"

The light fairy jumped and hit her head on a shelf in the refrigerator. Turning around while rubbing the back of her head gingerly, she asked, "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

I rolled my eyes. "Stella, I know you. Why did Tecna's quitting story make you so uncomfortable?"

Stella sighed and closed the fridge. "It wasn't her quitting story, it was what she said about the I.T. guy. It's been nearly three years since the Specialists left and you have all moved on so well, but me? I promised him I would wait until he returned and I can't seem to get past that."

"Stella, you can't be mad at Tecna for-"

"I'm not- I'm not mad at Tecna. I want her to have every happiness imaginable. I'm jealous of her and you and everyone else, because you aren't held back by the past. I want to move on."

"I can't blame you for still loving Brandon. I still love Nabu in my own way."

Stella shook her head and said, "But they disappeared for two years."

We both looked up at each other at the same time. By the look in her eyes, I could tell we had reached the same conclusion.

"It's been three years," I said quietly. "That means..."

I didn't finish for fear of getting my hopes up.

Just then, Bloom walked into the room with Alex and Bella in tow.

"Hey, guys. I just came to see what was taking so long." The redhead suddenly noticed the silence and asked, "What's with the long faces?"

I turned to her and repeated, "It's been three years."

I could see the realization dawn on her and she sent the twins back outside.

"Are you talking about...?"

Stella and I nodded. Bloom looked bewildered.

"I haven't thought about that in ages."

Stella muttered, "I think about it every night."

Bloom nodded in understanding. "Sometimes I wonder what I'd say to Sky if I saw him again."

I turned to face Flora, Musa, and Tecna as they walked in. Musa suggested, "Why don't you?"

Bloom raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You mean see Sky again?"

"We've all thought about it. Why not go back to Magix?"

Tecna shrugged and said, "Since I quit my job, there's nothing tying me here."

Flora chimed in, "Carriage House won't miss me."

"Fruity Music bar can find another DJ," Musa offered.

"And another waitress," Bloom added.

I laughed. "I guess the gym has enough personal trainers without me."

Stella looked at us in shock. Her eyes started tearing up when she asked, "Wait, are we seriously doing this? Are we going back to Magix?"

* * *

 **Tecna**

One call to Faragonda and one step through a portal later and we were standing in the quad of Alfea. As the girls talked to the headmistress, I watched Eddie and Alex poke at a color-changing flower in awe. At only two years old, I knew they probably had no idea what they were seeing, but I still felt a pang in my heart that we kept them from their true heritage for so long. Magic ran through their veins and behind their eyes and they had no clue.

"So these are the children?" Faragonda asked excitedly as Apolline and Artemio toddled over to Stella. "They are so beautiful, Stella."

Stella beamed proudly. "Thanks, Ms. F. It runs in the family."

"That it does," Faragonda said. "Both sides of the family."

Stella's smile died a little as we were all reminded of Brandon. Faragonda continued on in spite of our sudden silence.

"And Tessitura, was it?" she asked, turning to Musa. "She has your pigtails and his eyes."

Musa smiled halfheartedly at the compliment, the mention of Riven dulling her mood as it had over the years of his absence. When Faragonda turned to address Flora, I placed a comforting hand on Musa's shoulder. She gave me another sad smile. I understood. Even now, as we were waiting to see the boys again, the reminder that they had ever left at all stung.

"And wow, triplets?" Faragonda continued, beaming at Verano and Primavera as they toddled around Otoño who was crying for some reason or another. Flora nodded, smiling good-naturedly and lifting Toni up onto her hip to get him to stop crying. "I believe Saladin had cousins that came in a set of three. Must run in Helia's family."

Flora's eyes widened at the information that Helia had apparently never shared with her, but she covered it up quickly and laughed nervously, "Yes, it must."

Tess and Bay ran by during their game of tag. Faragonda asked, "So, Aisha, is he showing signs of potential magic like his father?"

"What? Oh, um, it's too soon to tell," Aisha answered awkwardly.

Turning to Bloom, Faragonda said, "Your twins are practically vivacious. It's funny how Alexander looks like you but acts like Sky, and Isabella looks like Sky but acts like you. Have you ever noticed that before?"

Bloom nodded stiffly. We had all noticed that, but we never mentioned it. I waited with bated breath as she inevitably turned to comment on my son.

"Oh, Tecna," she gasped as her eyes landed on my little boy still inspecting the flower, his round wire-frame glasses slipping down his nose. "He's the spitting image of Timmy, just with pink hair. But that face? Unmistakable."

I thought I had better control over my emotions, but my eyes misted over and my voice cracked when I replied, "I know."

Faragonda noticed and carefully examined my face. After a moment of inspection, she stated, "They don't know."

"Who?" I asked after sucking in a shaky breath as I fought back tears. "The boys or the kids?"

"Both."

"Oh... no. They don't."

Bloom finally took the reins of the conversation and interjected, "That's actually why we're here. The two years have passed and..."

"You're here to see the Specialists," Faragonda finished, filling in the blanks herself. We all nodded tentatively. "Well, I haven't seen or heard of their return, but if anyone knows for sure, it's Codatorta. He _is_ the mission's director. I can watch the children while you fly there."

I looked around at my friends, asking the same silent question. There was hope in our eyes for the first time in ages. We might finally see the boys again. Questions of what we would say when we finally saw them again and the what ifs of the situation could wait for later. For now, there were only silver linings in our sky. Speaking of the sky...

"Wait, we get to fly again?" I asked, a smile spreading across my face before I could stop it. We all shared nearly manic grins.

"Magic Winx! Enchantix!"

* * *

 **Stella**

We landed in Red Fountain whooping and cheering. I know I have a fear of heights, but I adore the feeling of the sun pressed up against my back and nothing but open air beneath me. One day, hopefully, my daughter would experience the same feeling.

As we landed, however, I suddenly felt the familiar feeling of all eyes on me.

"Uh... girls?"

"I see it too, Stell," said Musa, looking around warily.

The boys of Red Fountain were just staring at us slack-jawed in shock. It seemed that whole school population just so happened to be outside when we arrived. The frozen silence was so unbearable and I wished someone would say something and break it. Careful what you wish for, I guess.

"Oh. My. Great. Dragon," said one boy finally. "It's the Winx Club."

Next thing we knew, teenage boys were descending upon us like some sort of feeding frenzy. One boy kept asking if we were real and I heard another shout "I touched her wing!" I fought to fly out without hurting anyone, seeing as they were just over-enthusiastic fans and in their defense, we _had_ disappeared for almost three years. Still, they were getting a little too grabby.

"I like attention, but this is a little much," I quipped as a hero shoved a camera in my face.

With a whoosh, I flew up out of the crowd and joined Aisha and Flora in the sky. The other three followed soon after. We looked down at the masses who were pulling out phones and video cameras. Great. In a matter of seconds, the whole dimension would know where we are.

"We'd better make this quick," Tecna observed, coming to the same conclusion as me.

We all zoomed towards Codatorta's office, leaving the heroes in awe.

As we flew through the halls- single file since our Enchantix wings are so big- memories of my time here bombarded me. Through every door I saw his dorm room and in every face I saw his chocolate brown eyes. One portrait on the wall looked so much like his smile I had to blink and shake my head or I would have run into Aisha who was flying in front of me.

His face had haunted me in the three years he had been gone. Everywhere I went I saw him. Just last week I had assaulted a poor cashier who came up behind me at the grocery store, because he had brown hair and I could have sworn...

Sleep wasn't a respite either, seeing as him leaving replayed over and over in my sleep with every other alternative ending to the story, but they still all end with me crying. My only oasis in the past three years had been my precious twins, Apolline and Artemio. Even then, Lilly had his hair and his eyes and Arty had his smile and his nose and together it was like facing him again.

To think, I might have faced him again. I was so close.

* * *

 **Bloom**

The doors of Codatorta's office slammed open as we flew in, trying desperately to out-race the heroes chasing us with questions. Throwing our full weight against the door, we sealed them shut with a spell and turned to the mission director's desk with chests heaving and sweat dripping down the sides of our faces. I didn't realize how out of shape I was until just then.

"Winx!" the burly man exclaimed. "You're back! I must tell Faragonda! Where have you-?"

"She already knows," I said, cutting him off with a wave of my hand. "We came to see the Specialists."

I stood as confidently as I could in a dress made of flower petals as I waited to see the man I admittedly still loved. What would I say when I saw him? What would he think of Alex and Bella? Do I let him back into our lives? Doubts from earlier started to resurface in my mind.

Codatorta sighed in a world-weary way and said, "I'm sorry to say this, girls, but in the three years they have been away, the boys have grown attached to their new lives. It is likely that they will not be returning anytime soon."

"What?" I felt like my heart had stopped. I was certain that my heart had stopped.

"I'm sorry. I cannot say more as details of the mission cannot be discussed, but I suggest you wait for them to contact you."

"Like hell I'm waiting for him!" Aisha shouted angrily. The water fairy stormed out of the room. The slam of the door shocked me back into reality.

All of my earlier doubts crashed down around me as I was faced with a far worse truth. I was so sure that he'd be here that I had been scared of not _wanting_ him; now I realized that he was _all_ I wanted. And he didn't want me. I fought the tears. I wasn't going to cry over him. He didn't deserve my tears. But still... he's just done?

Next to me, Flora was getting misty-eyed and Stella was already bawling. Tecna collapsed into one of the chairs with her head in her hands, pulling at her short hair as she tried to comprehend. Musa was so angry she could barely get out a full sentence.

"But he said- and then he was yelling- ohh, he makes me so mad- I cannot believe- and to get angry at me? As fucking if."

"I'm done. If he's done, I'm done," I stated. Turning to Codatorta, I said, "You can tell Sky that I've 'grown attached' to my new life as well. Quote me."

With that, I followed Aisha down the hall to where she was yelling at a poor freshman who had made the mistake of asking for an autograph. I quickly flew over to intervene. By the time I arrived, Aisha was shouting and crying at the terrified hero who was slowly trying to sneak into an open closet to his right. I rushed up behind Aisha and grabbed her around the waist. Letting her instincts and battle reflexes take over, she whipped around and pushed me away, but I held to her tightly. She started hitting me as she shouted obscenities at Nabu while I just hugged her, but all of her fighting just dissolved into sobbing into my shoulder as I stroked her hair. I willed myself not to cry as well, although I really felt like it.

The girls came up behind us as Aisha's sobbing became sniffling. She took a deep breath and stepped back from my embrace, putting on a brave face.

"Let's get out of here," she said. We all nodded in agreement. Our flight home wasn't nearly as exciting as the flight there had been.

* * *

 **Musa**

My feet touched down on the Alfea quad first. I detransformed the second I landed, halfheartedly going through the moves as I was engulfed in magical light. I should have been feeling euphoria at being able to transform and detransform for the first time in years, but all I felt was numb. My anger had faded during the flight to be replaced with a throbbing ache in my chest. When the light receded, I saw that I was surrounded by the other Winx in the clothes we had arrived here in, our kids, and Ms. Faragonda. She must have put two and two together after seeing that we weren't with the Specialists, because she gave us a sad smile that only made my heart throb harder. Still, I was grateful for all she'd done for us.

"Mama!"

I turned as I heard the familiar voice of my daughter. She toddled over and threw her arms up to show she wanted to be held, which was strange since Tess hated being held. I took the opportunity and hugged her tightly. Holding her in my arms reminded me that I didn't need Riven. He wasn't the best thing to ever happen to me; Tess was. The ache in my chest dulled.

"Girls," Ms. Faragonda addressed us. We all looked up from our kids. "We need to talk about your next move. They may not have returned, but you still have lives to which you must attend and children that you still have to raise. The question of whether you should keep them in the dark about magic must be answered."

Tess started giggling at the mention of magic and clapping her chubby hands together excitedly.

"If I may overstep my bounds," Faragonda ventured, "I do not believe that magic should be kept a secret from them. I am not telling you how to raise your children, but trust me, they will figure it out on their own. If the accidental magic doesn't give it away, then the nature of a secret will unearth the children's true origins. The truth will always be revealed."

"The reason we left in the first place was so no one would know about our 'shame,'" Tecna reminded Faragonda, hugging Eddie more closely, "that the Winx Club had teenage pregnancies. We were supposed to be gone on a mission and never return."

"It's a little late for that," Flora pointed out, "seeing as, after our appearance at Red Fountain, all of Magix will know we're here."

"Exactly," Aisha said. "We can't come back to Magix. I, for one, am not raising my son in the glow of the spotlight. We all saw how the heroes reacted to seeing us again. Imagine what they'd do if they saw our children, how they'd react to that. I don't want Bay exposed to that."

"I agree," I said, thinking of how difficult it was for my parents when I was younger. They had to keep me away from paparazzi because everyone wanted a glimpse of the child born of a love strong enough to persuade a prince into throwing away his claim to the throne. My dad never regretted his decision or his love for my mom, but the press sure thought he did and made sure to point it out for the first few years of my life before the story eventually died around the time I was nine. I didn't want that for Tess.

Stella, who still hadn't stopped crying since we left Red Fountain, said through tears, "I honestly- I just can't come back here. I'm sorry, Ms. F, I really am. I want Lilly and Arty to know magic, but I don't- it hurts so much."

Bloom said, "I want to be the Winx Club. I want to be the Company of Light, and I want to be all of that for them, for you, but it doesn't really matter what I want. I'm a mother and what I want most of all is the best life for my kids. If that means keeping magic a secret, then so be it."

Faragonda nodded solemnly and echoed, "So be it."

Bloom silently opened a portal back to Earth with her hand. Holding one twin in each hand, she looked over her shoulder at Alfea for the last time. She gave a small smile to our former headmistress and then disappeared beyond the swirling blue portal. Tecna gave Faragonda a quick wave before grabbing Eddie and hopping through the portal after Bloom.

Aisha took a deep breath and faced the old woman who had changed all of our lives. "Thank you for everything, Ms. Faragonda. I mean it. Thank you for taking me in and believing in me when I was so angry and rebellious. I wouldn't be the woman I am today without your tutelage."

"And what a woman you are, Aisha," Ms. Faragonda said. "You've got a fine head on your shoulders, putting your child first. I have every faith in you."

Aisha teared up and her voice cracked as she said, "Don't forget to write."

Ms. Faragonda smiled and hugged the water fairy who broke down in her arms. Stella joined in the hug, sobbing loudly about missing her and all sorts of other sentimental things. When they finally pulled away, Faragonda's blouse was wet with tear stains, but she was smiling sadly. Aisha grabbed Bay and walked through the portal. Stella herded Lilly and Arty through the portal behind her.

Flora's triplets all hugged Faragonda, making the old woman choke up with emotion. She quickly sent the three two-year-olds to join their mother by the portal and with a wave and a kiss blown in the headmistress's direction, Flora and the triplets followed the other girls into the portal. Now I was the only one left.

"Musa," Ms. Faragonda said, turning to me seriously. I sensed the sudden change in mood as the air became charged with something foreboding. "Watch after those children. Just because you hide magic from them does not mean you can let yourself slip. You must stay on top of your game."

"Ms. F, what's all this about?"

The old woman sighed in a world-weary way that made even _my_ bones ache. "There are darknesses in this world that no one can explain. In some places, light simply does not shine. Do not let your life be controlled by the things that go bump in the night. Take care of yourself and your children, because the Winx will return to Magix and they will not come easily. I wish I could tell you more."

"You can," I urged.

"No," she said, "I really can't. You must go now, but heed my words. This is not the last the Magix Dimension has seen of the Company of Light."

It was with those words that she pushed Tess and me through the portal that landed me back in our backyard on Earth. The swirling blue portal disappeared before I could jump back and ask more. When I turned around, the Winx were looking at me with questioning looks.

"What was the holdup?" Bloom asked good-naturedly.

"Uh," I looked back at where the portal had been in confusion before putting Tess down. I turned back to the Winx and shrugged. "It was nothing. Just a goodbye."

The girls accepted my easy lie and made their way inside, seeing as it was now nighttime. I looked back again at where the portal had been before I followed my friends inside.

I thought about what Ms. Faragonda had said for days after she said it, pulling apart each word and analyzing each syllable, but one thought followed me into my dreams and stuck to the forefront of my mind. _What hadn't she said?_

* * *

 **So... what do you think? Let me know in the reviews what you think about my portrayal of the Winx and let me know what you think of their kiddies! Do you think you can predict their personalities? Take a crack at it and let me know. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the story and check out my profile page for my new poll.**

 **Here, have a character chart to refer back to over the course of the story. Thanks for all the name suggestions!**

 **Bloom** (her twins have simple Earthy names b/c she's from Earth)

 ** _Alexander (Alex)-_** _looks like Bloom but acts like Sky, social adventurous and spoiled_

 ** _Isabella (Bella)-_** _looks like Sky but acts like Bloom, stubborn passionate and proud_

 **Musa** (her daughter has a flowery name and an edgy nickname b/c it's like the two sides of music- flowery and edgy)

 ** _Tessitura (Tess)-_** _looks like a tanner Musa but with violet eyes, mischievous cynical and loyal_

 **Aisha** (her son has a sweet water name b/c she's an Androsian helicopter mom)

 ** _Bay-_** _lanky with wild light brown curls and brown doe eyes, naïve curious and compassionate_

 **Flora** (her triplets are named after the seasons of summer, autumn, and spring in Spanish)

 ** _Verano (Vera)-_** _basically a brown female Helia, self-centered creative and frivolous_

 ** _Otoño (Toni)-_** _brown hair brown eyes brown skin, judgmental protective and calm_

 ** _Primavera (Prim)-_** _Flora's skin and eyes but hair the color of Flora's bang streaks, immature kind and outspoken_

 **Stella** (her twins have overdramatic names b/c she's an overdramatic sun & moon fairy)

 ** _Apolline (Lilly)-_** _looks like a suntanned Brandon, obnoxious calculating and shrewd_

 _ **Artemio (Arty)-** has curly dirty blonde hair along with super pale skin and Stella's yellow eyes, calm complacent and dreamy_

 **Tecna** (her son has an intelligent name b/c intelligence is kinda her thing)

 ** _Eddison (Eddie)-_** _looks exactly like Timmy with bubblegum pink hair, sarcastic intelligent and pessimistic_

 **I hope you like my next gen. I feel bad I didn't make twins named Alex and Serena for Stella because one person wanted it so bad that I think they reviewed twice. I hope these weirdo names don't turn you off from my story, Stellastar. I would love for you to throw some other ideas my way in the reviews just for fun later on in the story. I always keep an open mind. And don't forget that _the Trix still need baby names_ too! Icy's kid's names will be on a poll. Darcy has A LOT of kids with constellation names. Stormy's pregnant with a fiery baby. ;)**

 **Love, Ru**


	4. Author's Note

**Before I say anything, let me just say that I am not angry and I appreciate any opinions that y'all are willing to share. Having that out of the way, I think I need to clear up a few things. Let's start with a simpler one.**

 **I headcanon Flora as Hispanic. Growing up, I never saw Hispanic cartoon characters so when I saw Flora, being brown and beautiful at the same time, I was blown away and so encouraged. Years later, when I jumped back into the fandom, I discovered that Ignio Straffi based her off of Jennifer Lopez. I'm not saying that everybody else is wrong in their interpretation, but only that my personal interpretation is that Flora would give her children Hispanic names instead of basic white names like Ivy or Blossom or something of that nature. I'm not trying to hate on anyone's beautiful name suggestions. This is only just an explanation of my strange name choices. Just a repeat, I am not saying that anyone else's interpretation of Flora is wrong. You are perfectly valid if you think she is white or a Pacific Islander or a light-skinned African-American or a dark-skinned Asian or an alien from outer space so that race doesn't really matter. All of those interpretations are beautiful and lovely as well, so please do not feel like I am trying to contradict or attack you with my interpretation.**

 **Second on the list is the weird names. Yes, it is true. I did not give them all names like Jessica, Maia, Melody, Ashley, Electra, or Ember/Amber. What I was looking for were names that mean something while also not being too obvious in their meanings. I was also looking for names that reflected each girl's background and how I personally think they feel about their homeworld. So any basic suburban names were pretty much crossed off- except Bloom's because she's from the suburbs- so thank you for all of your contributions and I really do appreciate the participation.** **Moving on to Stella's kids' names. This story takes places after Season 3 when Stella is solely aspiring to eventually rule Solaria, whose known inhabitants include Radius, Luna, Wanda, Illiris, Chimera, Cassandra, Nova, etc. I'm sorry, but Ashley doesn't seem to fit in with these names. Maybe if I was writing about Season 4's fashion designer Stella, she would have kids named Luke and Lucille, but I happen to very much like Apolline and Artemio. Lilly and Arty are cute names to me, plus Apolline and Artemio are French and I always envisioned Stella as French. Aisha was originally going to have an Androsian name like Darrius or Teredor, but the character's personality was too sweet for something like that so I chose Bay. This one seems simple enough. Over my dead body was Musa going to have a daughter named Melody or Lyra. As absolutely gorgeous as both of those names are, there are literally a billion of them. I was also trying to avoid making her child's name some awful pun or something forcefully Asian. I narrowed it down to Tessitura or Melisma; y'all wanted Tess, so you're going to have to deal with that. I think it's cute, unique, and edgy. Flora's kids' names were suggested by my friend and it was love at first sight. The names were Spanish and nature-related. Verano means summer, Otoño means fall, and Primavera means spring. The seasons also fit their personalities well. They also were able to be shortened into more basic nicknames like Vera, Toni, and Prim, so that was a plus. I will apologize now to those who were expecting a plant name like Lily, Rose, Ivy, Violet, Magnolia, Laurel, etc. Don't for a second think I am hating on your suggestions, because they are all beautiful names that I would definitely use in any other story. Tecna was a tricky one. I like to think that when she got pregnant she had her heart set on a name like Electro or Synthia or something Zenithean like that. However, as she got to know Earth life, she realized how cold and unfeeling her homeworld could be, so she opted for an older, more cultured and intelligent Earth name: Eddison. She gave it two Ds to give it a little twist, but it's based on Thomas Edison. Bloom got basic white suburban names like Alexander and Isabella because she's a basic white suburban girl. I actually think it's kind of cool how she stuck to her roots even after she discovered she was a princess with magical powers and all that. Props to her. If you really dislike the names that much, stop reading. Before you do that, however, may I remind you that this story is predominantly about the Winx's relationships with the Specialists. The names are of very little importance, so I hope you choose to stick with me to discover how the Specialists feel about all of this. I appreciate everyone who respectfully told me they disagree with my name choices, so this is not directed towards you, although I do hope you keep reading as well.**

 **The third matter of business is, I am not, I repeat NOT, giving them all daughters. I have never been/never will be that type of writer. I already broke some cosmic rules by giving them all kids at the exact same time, so there is absolutely no way I'm going to make their kids a team of fairies. From this point on, I'll try to make this story as realistic as possible with real problems like having to get two jobs because they're single mothers without a college degree and having them date and find sort of love until the boys inevitably return. This is not a fairytale, this is a fanfiction.**

 **Lastly, children do not inherit their parents' personalities. Children develop personalities based on their circumstance and atmosphere. You aren't born with a personality, you grow one. So the way their parents act will influence them, but not in the way you're thinking. For example, Aisha was a helicopter mother, so Bay grew up to be very sheltered and timid and sweet, wearing his heart on his sleeve and having virtually no emotional walls to speak of. Stella was very loud and outgoing so while Lilly learned to copy her mother and try to outdo her to get attention, Arty grew up to be quiet and subdued, finding peace in the silence instead of the noise.** **I was also getting a lot about giving them their parents' personalities and let me tell you that giving a child the same personality as one of their parents is the most unappealing thing to read because it is so bland and copyish. Are you exactly the same as your mother or father? Sure, I am who I am because of them, but that doesn't mean I love gardening because my mom likes gardening or that I'm some super builder just because my dad's a super builder. I plan on giving these five-year-olds their very own personalities if that's alright with you lovely readers.**

 **[EDIT: I forgot to give credit! Oh my goodness, guys, I'm so sorry. Since most of you guys are guests, I'll just say guest if you didn't give a name. If middle names ever come up in the story, I'll give credit for those too.**

 **Alexander Spears (credit to Guest)**

 **Isabella Spears (credit to the same Guest who suggested Alexander for Bloom's son)**

 **Tessitura Liu (credit to everyone who voted for Tess)**

 **Bay Knowles (credit to ash813)**

 **Verano Lopez (credit to my friend Sam)**

 **Otoño Lopez (credit to my friend Sam)**

 **Primavera Lopez (credit to my friend Sam)**

 **Apolline Diaz (credit to Anonymousnette and sherbert queen)**

 **Artemio Diaz (credit to Anonymousnette and sherbert queen)**

 **Eddison Moore (credit to listeninggame)**

 **Thank you all for these wonderful ideas! This story is what it is because of you guys. Oh, and for a large chunk of the plot, I'd like to give credit to YukkiSekki. Check out Fall for You. It's awesome.]**

 **I believe that is all so without further ado, I give you a tiny little sort of chapter so that I'm not breaking any rules.**

* * *

"Blue!" Sky heard someone call him from down the hall. Turning around, he saw Brandon running to catch up with him.

"What's wrong, Darrius?" the prince asked once he caught up to him.

The brunette placed a heavy hand on his friend's shoulder and explained, "Nothing, it's just that..."

He trailed off, looking around to make sure they were alone before leaning towards the blond's ear and whispering, "It's been two years."

Sky sighed wearily and looked down at the scroll in his clenched fist. He had just been on his way to dispose of the depressing message from Codatorta so that their cover wouldn't be blown by a suspicious member of the Whisperian royal court. You always had enemies here.

"Darrius," Sky said sadly, "the mission's been prolonged."

Brandon stared at him distraught. "Wha- how long?"

"Undetermined," he replied shortly.

"But the girls, they-" Brandon shook his head in disbelief, "She- she's waiting for me."

Sky nodded understandingly before pulling on his mask of indifference again. _It's all part of the job_ , he reminded himself.

"Go tell the others," Sky ordered.

The squire bowed to his prince and ran off to tell the other Specialists. Sky let his mask fall with a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his long hair.

"Forgive me, Bloom."

The words echoed off the empty palace halls all around him. Sky felt very, very alone.

* * *

 **Oh, I almost forgot. To Dragonheart, you never logged in so I have no way of contacting you privately to let you know that I think the names you suggested are a tad cliché and your opening sentence hurt my feelings. The personalities and family dynamics, however, were very well thought out, so if you ever get around to writing that fanfiction, let me know. I want to read it and maybe add it to my community. I'll keep my eye out for it.**

 **Also, don't forget to take the poll on my page and review with constellation names for Darcy's kids. I wanna hear some unique shiz. And Stormy's pregnant with a girl with fire tornado powers (wild, right?).**

 **Love, Ru😘**


	5. The Boys Are Back

**I'll keep this short since the last chapter was predominantly an Author's Note with a very little chapter. Before I pick one perspective to settle on, I'll try doing one chapter for each girl and then I will decide. As per popular request, this will be Stella's chapter.**

 **Don't forget about the poll on my page or the Trix's baby names!**

 **Fair warning: Canon starts to get played with at this point. This is after season 3 and Roxy does make an appearance (as well as Roy, Nex, and Thoren), but none of the events of season 4 and onward unfold.**

* * *

 **Stella**

 _It's been six years._

 _I let myself forget about him and I stopped crying myself to sleep halfway through year four, so that's good at least. I've picked up a second job because we can't depend on the generosity of Mike and Vanessa forever, as kind as they are. So now, on top of my job at the department store, I work the night shift as a waitress at the Frutti Music Bar with Bloom. The only difference is that she works there all day. Poor thing gets home at midnight covered in smoothie juice and looking a mess and still has time to tell Alex and Bella a story before they go to bed. They stay up for her. Lilly and Arty are normally knocked out by the time I get home because Flora offers to watch them for us. After the old lady who previously owned the place bit the dust, Flora now owns the Carriage House, the daycare I mentioned last time I wrote to you, so she and the triplets moved out of the apartment building and into the home above the daycare. She is so much help with the kids._

 _It's not all bad. I got a promotion, so I'm the manager now. The money is very helpful, but it's not nearly enough. The kids are going to have to go to school soon and I don't know how I'm going to pay for their school supplies. We'll get by. We always do. If only I had a college degree. Apparently, if you want to do anything on Earth, you have to have one of those because saving the Magix Dimension a trillion times doesn't qualify you for anything. Don't worry, Ms. F. That was a joke. We haven't revealed magic or anything. Speaking of, Roxy is still adamant about living out her life on Earth despite discovering she has superpowers. I'll keep you updated on that, but as of right now, she just wants to get through high school and become a veterinarian._

 _In other news, I've met a boy. Not a boy, really, but a man. Sometimes I forget that I'm twenty-three years old now. I still feel like a teenager when he looks at me. He's sweet and funny. His name is Ismail and every day at exactly noon he shows up at the store to ask me out. So far, I've said no because... well, what if HE comes back? But my resolve is starting to wear down and he's really good with the kids._

 _Oh, and Marlowe's two years old now! Aisha is absolutely ecstatic about her little girl and Bay is such an adorable big brother to her. We don't know much about the father other than that he was one of Aisha's clients and he must have had some lovely locks because Marlowe's hair is just now growing out and it is blonde and I mean blonde. She's also a little lighter than Bay and Aisha but not by much. Aisha got her job as a personal trainer back, so now the kids stay at KIDSports all day instead of going with the others to Carriage House. It costs money, but she likes to see them during the day since she gets home from her other job too early in the morning to see them at bedtime. I don't blame her. Her second job is very demanding and I know that if I had the option to see my babies throughout the day I would. _

_This letter is getting a little long and I have to bring the kids to daycare once they finish eating breakfast, so I'll end it here. I've attached a picture of all of us, including the kids, since you asked how we were taking care of ourselves in your last letter. Please don't mention how much they resemble... them. Until they get back, I prefer not to think about it. That is, if they get back. You'll let us know, won't you?_

 _Okay, now it really is getting too long. We miss you a lot, Ms. Faragonda. Write back soon._

 _Love,_

 _Stella_

* * *

Bloom was sick, so I took her shift at the Frutti Music Bar, simple as that. Simple, except for the fact that I had already had a shift that night, so I just worked two shifts instead and ended up having to walk home at twelve o'clock at night.

When I got back to the apartment, everything was very quiet. Granted, everyone was already in bed, so obviously I was the only one left awake. Except for Aisha, of course, who was working a really high-end party uptown. Poor hun. The life of an escort is taxing.

I tried to walk up the stairs to our apartment as quietly as possible, so I wouldn't wake anybody up. The sound of the creaking steps echoing in the stairwell put me on edge and filled me with a kind of adrenaline I hadn't felt in a very long time. It filled a hole I didn't know I had.

When I finally made it up to the apartment, I breathed a sigh of relief. The shadows in the stairwell gave me that awful, sleep-deprived feeling of being followed that you can only get at one in the morning when you're all alone.

Walking through the kitchen/dining room/parlor, I put my purse on the counter and pulled my hair out of its ponytail. Yawning, I started making my way towards the shower, when suddenly...

 _CRASH!_

I was on the floor. My head was pounding and my vision was blurry. I just wanted to lay there, in too much pain to feel fear or worry or anything but pain. That is, until I heard a scream.

You know those stories about mothers who can do impossible things when their children need them most? I like to think that's what happened when I pulled myself from the brink of passing out, stumbled down the hallway, and kicked down the door to my kids' room.

Standing in the middle of the room between the two twin beds was a cloaked figure holding both my children in the air by the wrists. Their face was cloaked in shadow, but I could make out a sinister smile.

"Put down my kids," I threatened, holding my hands out in front of me like I was going to blast them. I hadn't blasted anything in ages, but a few seconds ago I kicked down a door, so I was feeling confident enough to threaten them. Plus they had my fucking kids.

"What are you going to do?" the figure whispered. Arty whimpered, so I stiffened my arms.

"I'm warning you," I said. "Put my kids down and get the hell out of my apartment. You have no idea who I am."

Their smile twisted into a disgusting smirk as the figure proceeded to float above the ground.

"Oh?" they said tauntingly. "Don't I... Your Highness?"

The title was accompanied by a satirical little bow. Lilly started crying and her brother quickly joined in. My heart leaped into my throat. They looked at me with faith that I would make everything better, but I still had a headache the size of Solaria's second sun and there were black dots prickling my vision.

"I'm warning you," I repeated less confidently than I had before.

"No," the figure said, "I'm warning _you_."

A beam of dark energy came forth from the tacky pendant holding the figure's cloak together that knocked me back against the wall. I slumped against the floor.

There was a sudden slam as the door swung open and a tall figure in gleaming armor stepped through.

"Put down those children," the hauntingly familiar voice of the stranger demanded.

For some reason, the figure listened to him and slowly put Lilly and Arty back on the floor. They both rushed towards me and curled up on either side of me.

"I'll give you five seconds to leave from this place, or I _will_ blast you into oblivion."

The figure nodded shakily, conjured a portal, and disappeared.

I looked up at my knight-in-shining-armor, a feeling of dread curling up in my stomach. He knelt down beside me and took off his mask just as the black dots started to consume my vision.

"Stella," Brandon said, gently caressing my face with his glove.

"Why the hell are _you_ here?" I said and then I passed out.

* * *

 **Very, _very_ early the next morning**

"Where are my kids- what the fuck?" Aisha asked as she walked into my apartment wearing a gray tracksuit and smudged makeup and stopped suddenly in the door way when she saw us.

The Specialists were all squished together on my couch while Bloom paced in front of them and Musa and I watched. Somewhere in my kitchen/dining room/parlor, Flora was calming down the crying kids while Tecna was in my room trying to get a trace of the magical signature of that sick, demented freak who had tried to take my kids. Just thinking about it made me angry, even angry enough to ignore the fact that I was standing in the same room as Brandon for the first time in six years and he had crimped hair for some reason.

"Aisha," Nabu said as he started to get up from the couch but a firm look from Musa made him sit back down.

"Momma!" Bay cried, flinging himself into her arms. Marlowe toddled after him, wrapping her pudgy arms around one of her legs. Thankfully, Bay and Marlowe were staying in Musa's apartment when it happened and Bloom, Tecna, and I were the only ones who were attacked.

"Hey, baby," she said, placing a kiss on his forehead. She ruffled Marlowe's hair and put Bay down, turning to Musa to ask, "What happened? What's going on?"

She eyed the Specialists warily, especially Nabu who she regarded with serious suspicion. Musa pulled her aside and started whispering in her ear, explaining what had happened. Brandon saw me watching him so I looked away quickly. I could not meet those eyes.

"Bloom, can I-"

"No," Bloom said, cutting Sky off. "I'm just trying to- trying to... I'm feeling a lot of things right now, so just give me a second."

The blond obeyed and kept his mouth shut. Brandon leaned over to whisper something in his friend's ear, but his eyes never left me. I looked everywhere but at him. A few minutes passed before anybody spoke again.

"Okay," Bloom said. "Okay."

She sat down on the coffee table in front of my couch and Sky took it as his cue to speak.

He took a deep breath and said...

"I've missed you."

Bloom shot up from the coffee table so fast she almost knocked it over. In a righteous fury, she said, "Don't you dare give me that crap. I want to know who those people were who tried to steal my kids."

Sky winced and I couldn't tell if it was because she was shouting or because she said "my kids." Either way, she had the total right to do that.

"Right, got it. You want a mission briefing. Okay. Well, those people were some cult members who are trying to get back at us for things that transpired while we were away on our mission," Sky explained slowly so as not to provoke the raging redhead.

"Oh... so this is _your_ fault," Bloom accused, making Sky's eyes widen in alarm. He stood up quickly so they were standing chest to chest. She had to crane her neck up to meet his eyes, but that didn't dilute her anger.

"Bloom, I am so sorry. We thought we had the situation under control, but we let some people slip through the cracks. I am so sorry that any of this happened."

"Get out."

"What?"

Bloom glared up at him so fiercely that Sky tried to take a step back but ended up plopping back down on the couch.

"You heard me. Get out of my house and get away from my kids." I didn't feel like it was worth mentioning this was actually my apartment. Nobody moved. " _Now_."

The boys jumped up and raced to the door, running out of the room like bats out of hell. The door slammed behind them. The second it closed, Bloom sank down onto the couch and started to cry into her hands. I sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Why did we end up on different sides of the story? We were supposed to be forever," she mumbled into her hands.

I nodded understandingly and rubbed her back, saying, "I know."

Alex and Bella ran out of my kitchen and jumped up onto the couch. Bloom quickly wiped her tears.

"Mommy, who were those bad men?" Bella asked.

"Nobody, honey," she said, stroking her long blonde hair gently. "They're nobody."

My heart throbbed at her words because once upon a time they used to be somebody.

* * *

The next night I was working my shift at the Frutti Music Bar as per usual and this time Bloom was working with me. I stubbornly kept pretending that last night never happened and Bloom and Musa seemed fine with that. The three of us were currently taking a break at the base of the stage while attendance was running low. There were only a few people there: an elderly couple, a young family, a few teenagers, a lone biker sitting at the bar, and a large group of guys sitting in the far back corner hiding their faces in their menus and sneaking glances our way oh no...

"Hey, girls," I said, getting Bloom and Musa's attention. "Don't look now, but I think they followed us to work."

"Who are... oh shit," Musa said as she turned around and saw familiar magenta hair poking out from behind a menu.

Bloom started to turn red as she said, "I cannot believe that they would-"

"Woah, there, feisty," I said, placing a hand on her arm. "We can't just walk up to them."

I turned to Musa, thinking she would back me up, but instead, she just asked, "Why not?"

I looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Well, because... because... because we can't! It's the _Specialists_! That's why!"

"I for one would love to give that meathead a piece of my mind," Bloom said, rolling up her sleeves.

"Now, wait a second," I said. "Think about this. We can't just-"

"Hey, yo, assholes!"

The whole bar looked up to where Musa was walking over to the Specialists' table. Bloom and I quickly followed as damage control. I could see the boys' faces pale from all the way across the room. Musa's bandmates hopped off of the stage in case she needed some backup. I was just praying I wouldn't lose my job.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked once she reached the table. "Leave us alone."

Riven glared and stood up. "We _can't_ , Musa. You're being followed."

"We're what?" Musa and I said at the same time. Brandon looked at me when I spoke. There was such a strong longing in his eyes it was overwhelming. I turned my attention back to Riven.

"What do you mean we're being followed?" Bloom asked angrily. "Who's following us?"

"Remember those people from last night? Yeah, they weren't just there to scare you. They're here for revenge."

Helia groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "Dude, this was supposed to be top secret."

"I don't care," Riven snapped at the pacifist. Turning back to Musa, he said, "I love you, Musa. I don't understand why you're mad at me and why I can't be with you."

"Oh, so I just snap my fingers and we go right back to where we were?" Musa asked sarcastically. "My life is different now. I'm not the same girl you dated. I can't be her. I have to be a mother now and there is no room in my life for people who endanger my daughter."

Riven groaned in frustration, "I'm trying to protect you."

"From a problem you created," Musa added. "Leave me alone and don't come near my daughter."

She stormed back to the stage and explained what was going on to her bandmates. They glared at Riven and turned back to tuning.

Bloom snapped her hands in front of Riven's face to get his attention away from Musa. He glared down at her. She glared up at him.

"About that protection thing," she told him, "we don't need it. We can take care of ourselves."

He smirked, something that I knew had always bothered Bloom for as long as she'd known him. She told me once that it made her want to punch his face in. I couldn't really blame her, especially now when he smugly said, "That's not what it looked like last night."

Bloom faltered and said defensively, "W-well... they took us by surprise. We'll see it coming next time."

"Next time will be a surprise too," Sky said quietly from the other side of the table. All eyes went to him as he sighed dejectedly and stood up. "They'll catch you by surprise the next time and the time after that and the time after that. You can't expect them."

"We can fight them," I offered, but I wasn't so sure about that anymore.

Sky gave me a look that said 'who are you kidding?'

"How long has it been since any of you have practiced magic?"

We both fell silent.

"That's what I thought," Sky said, but he wasn't bragging like Riven. He sounded... sad. "We can't leave you girls alone. Musa was right when she said that this a problem we created. I can't just leave you all defenseless against my enemies. As a hero and as a prince, it goes against my code of honor."

Bloom tried to glare at him, but she was very obviously swooning so I pulled her out of there as fast as I could, leaving the boys to stare after us as we marched back to the stage. Needless to say, none of us got very much sleep that night.

* * *

Faragonda smiled down at the picture in her hands. She always enjoyed getting letters from Stella because the cheerful sun fairy always made sure to mention how the other girls were doing, as opposed to Musa who just gave her a walkthrough of her day.

The picture was taken on the beach, presumably near the Frutti Music Bar since Musa had mentioned in a letter that she performed at a bar near the beach. All six girls stood laughing with their children in what people on Earth refer to as their 'Sunday best.' The girls looked older and more mature now, but just as beautiful as they had always been. The children seemed to be frozen in some sort of suspended motion, as if they had been running around when the picture was taken. They had grown a lot since the Winx had last visited with the children. They were all now around five years old by the looks of it.

On the left, Musa was standing with her daughter sitting on her shoulders. Tessitura was sticking her tongue out at her mom who was grinning up at her. Tess had navy blue pigtails that sat at the base of her neck. She had narrow violet eyes and milky white skin. She was petite and slim like her mother with the same tiny nose and impish grin. Next to Musa stood Bloom with her arms around Alexander and Isabella who looked to be arguing about something. Bella was lovely with long blonde hair and peachy skin while Alex had a thick head of red hair and freckles on every inch of him. They both had Sky's bright blue eyes, strong jawline, and aristocratic nose. Next to them was Aisha who had one child standing in front of her smiling sweetly at the camera and another propped up on her hip wailing into her ear. Bay, who was grinning at whoever was taking the picture, had twinkly dark eyes and dimpled brown cheeks. He had a full head of wild brown curls and he was the tallest of all the children. Faragonda had never met the crying little girl before, so she assumed it was Marlowe. Stella was right about her not being as dark her mother or brother; she had an unfamiliar shade of blonde hair, but her wide blue eyes and obvious temper clearly identified her as Aisha's child. Flora stood next to Aisha with her triplets standing in front of her with their arms around each other, all just as tan as their mother. On the left was Otoño with a tight-lipped grin and narrow dark blue eyes. His honey brown hair was neatly combed to the side. On his right stood Primavera with her long blonde hair in a side braid and her narrow jade eyes shining like gems. Between them with her arms slung around both their shoulders was Verano, the oldest triplet, who had long navy blue waves and Helia's sharp chin and eyes. While the other two possessed Flora's rounder features, Vera was basically a tan, genderbent, five-year-old Helia. Stella stood on Flora's side with an arm around the nature fairy's neck. Apolline stood posing in front of her mother with a bright smile lighting up her pudgy face. Her eyes were dark and dramatic with long thick lashes framing them and her hair was brown and held up in a high ponytail with chocolate bangs swooping over her forehead. She was as beautiful as both of her parents combined. Her twin brother Artemio was hiding behind Stella's skirt, peeking out from behind the pink fabric. He had wide yellow eyes like his mother and dirty blonde hair styled into a faux-hawk. Unlike his sunkissed sister, Arty was as fair as moonlight and much shyer than Lilly by far. Stella had a loving hand placed on his head as he shied away from the camera. Lastly stood Tecna who was bent over tickling Eddison whose eyes were screwed shut in joy behind his wire frame glasses. His hair was a bright bubblegum pink, as opposed to his mother's more purplish color, and he looked exactly like Timmy. And by exactly like Timmy, I mean _exactly_. The boy was dressed in pastel colors with suspenders and a bow tie. He looked just as nerdy (and pale) as you'd expect any son of Tecna and Timmy to be.

Faragonda leaned back in her seat and took in the picture as a whole. They looked happy. _Good_ , she thought. _They deserve to be._

Meanwhile on Earth, the Winx Club's world was being flipped upside down.

* * *

 **Don't forget to vote or review or anything. I hope you like the story so far. I know the kids didn't play a big role. I'll try to get them more involved next chapter. I hope you like the giant paragraph I gave you just in case you're having trouble picturing the kids. Tell me what you think and how you think the boys will acclimate to life on Earth.**

 **Love, Ru**


	6. A Day at the Beach

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait. I swear I haven't given up on this fic, Sunsparklestelz. Introducing my new fic took some time. Real quick shout out to Cute cupcake! That's right, she's back and with an all-new revised next gen story called _Friends_. You should check it out. It's awesome.**

 **Also, check out my new story _The Finer The Line_. It's Phase 2 of the Cliché Project and it is also a next gen fic. Summary: **_The Winx Club all grow up and have goody-two-shoes daughters at the exact same time. Shocker. Well, this story isn't about them; this is about their sons, the Cabal Knights. They're evil warlocks and they love tormenting the squeaky clean daughters of the Trix, Diaspro, Chimera, and Mitzi (a.k.a. The Magix Club). But when a bigger, badder villain threatens the girls, can the boys put aside their prejudice and admit that something stronger than hate runs between them?_ **I hope you check it out and give it a big old review. I'm super excited for this new project, but don't think I'm forgetting about this fic. I plan on seeing this through until the end.**

 **Anyway, here's my girl Aisha.**

* * *

 **Aisha**

I woke up to someone knocking very loudly on my apartment door. I stifled a curse word as I crawled over Bay and Marlowe, who had both snuck into my bed some time in the middle of the night, and stumbled down the hall wiping the sleep out of my eyes. Whoever was waking me up this early was going to have some serious hell to pay.

"What do you want?" I asked as I swung the front door open, blinking quickly as the light flooded into my eyes. "What could possibly be so important at eight in the morning?"

"I'm here to escort you to work," said a deep voice that rolled down my spine and made me shiver. I glared at the voice's owner.

Nabu stood at my doorstep bright-eyed and bushy-tailed wearing his official Red Fountain robes and holding his wizard staff proudly. My eyes widened as I grabbed him by the collar and quickly yanked him inside. Sticking my head out to see if anyone was watching, I shut it and locked both locks.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I asked, turning on a very confused looking wizard. "You can't just walk around dressed like that. You'll expose magic to the world."

He at least has the sense to look sheepish about it, but that didn't make me want to lighten up on him. Instead, I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe, regarding him aloofly.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"I told you," he answered. "I came to escort you to work."

"It's Sunday."

All I got was a blank stare.

"On Earth, many people don't work on the weekend," I explained slowly as if I were explaining something to my five-year-old. "Most people, anyway. I've got an appointment tonight, but I was _planning_ on sleeping in."

"Sorry," he apologized, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. "The boys and I agreed that we would watch all of you over the course of the day."

I crossed my arms. "You know that I don't agree to that-" he nodded- "but these are my kids so I will _tolerate_ you guys until I can defend myself."

"How are you going to-"

"I'm dropping my first job. I'll spend the day at home practicing magic. That way I can spend more time with my kids and they'll be protected," I answered, walking up to the sink. "Since I'm already awake, I'm going to start on breakfast before the kids wake up."

Nabu perked up.

"I can do that!"

With a snap of his fingers, on the table appeared a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon complete with buttered toast, a bowl of strawberries, and glasses of orange juice. He beamed at me. I glared at him. Walking over to the table, I picked up the glasses, dumped them out into the sink, and used my magic to fill them with water. He frowned.

"In this house, we drink water," I stated plainly.

"Momma."

I turned away from Nabu when I heard Bay's sleepy voice. Smiling at the five-year-old standing in the doorway to the kitchen, I said, "Breakfast is ready."

His sleepy eyes looked over to the table and then widened in wonder when he saw the meal Nabu had made.

"Oh boy!" he exclaimed, rushing over to the table and clambering into his seat. A cry from my room told me that his exclamation had woken up his sister.

I sighed and, turning to Nabu, I said, "I'm going to be right back. Don't do _anything_."

I pointedly looked at his staff to make sure he got the message: _no magic_.

Walking into the room, I saw Marlowe tangled in the sheets and struggling to get out. I held back a laugh and walked over to help her. Once I finally got her out, I lead her back to the dining room, where Nabu and Bay were deep in conversation.

"So you say you don't know your daddy?"

"Nope."

"Wow, that must be hard. Does Tess know her daddy?"

"None of any of us know our daddies."

"Who's us?"

"Me and Tess and Alex and Bella and Lilly and Arty and Eddie and Vera and Toni and Prim. Oh, and Marlowe," Bay added as an afterthought.

"Wow, that must be hard," Nabu sympathized. "Did your momma ever tell you anything about your daddy?"

My eyes widened in alarm. I hastily sat down at the table with Marlowe and asked as casually as I could, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Daddy," Bay answered through a mouthful of eggs.

Nabu gave me an accusatory look from across the table, so I turned my attention towards cutting Marlowe's eggs into small enough pieces. _Please don't let him figure it out. Please don't let him figure it out,_ I chanted in my head.

"I can do it myself, Momma," Marlowe whined, trying to snatch the fork and knife out of my hands.

"No, you can't, Mar. You'll cut yourself."

She pouted and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms to make sure I knew that she was mad at me. I wasn't too perturbed because I knew she'd forget about it in under three minutes.

"She's so cute," Nabu said, gesturing to my daughter. "That hair is pretty bright. How did that happen?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, but the challenging look in my eyes when I answered was anything but.

"Her dad."

That seemed to strike a nerve because now he was the one avoiding my eyes. It seemed that the mention of the father of my children makes him uncomfortable. For a second I felt bad, but then I remembered that we weren't the same couple we had been six years ago. I can't trust him to be a part of my life if he's going to run off on missions without talking to me about it first. I understand that he had to and I'm not mad about that. I just wish he had told me beforehand. That kind of behavior had no place in my life. I'm a mom now and I need someone dependable.

We finished breakfast in silence with occasional commentary from Bay or Marlowe. When they were done, I took them to their rooms to dress them and then dressed myself. After fighting to get Marlowe into a pair of pants- because today was apparently a no pants day and someone had forgotten to inform me that we would not be wearing pants today- I took them both back out to the dining room where Nabu had magicked away the whole meal.

"So..." Nabu started awkwardly, "what do you guys normally do on Sundays?"

"Well, other than sleep in," I answered, fixing him with a pointed look, "I like to take them to the park or we help out at Carriage House."

"Momma! Momma!" Bay asked excitedly, tugging on my sleeve. "Can we go to the smoothie music place? Please, please, please!"

Suddenly both him and Marlowe were jumping up and down chanting 'please, please, please, please.'

I laughed and said, "Sure, guys. We can go to the Frutti Music Bar. Maybe after we can go to the beach."

"Yay!" they cheered.

"Go get your beach things," I told them and they ran off to their rooms in a hurry. Nabu was laughing too.

"I take it that they like the Frutti Music Bar?"

I nodded, heading towards my room to get the beach stuff together. Nabu followed me, even though I didn't invite him. That's not the part that bothered me though; the part that bothered me was that I didn't mind.

"Not as much as they like the beach," I answered, getting the bathing suits and putting them in the beach bag. "I figured I'd make a day of it."

He nodded and watched as I pulled a beach chair out of my closet. Underneath it, I saw another beach chair that gave me an awful idea.

"Nabu, would you like to go to the beach with us?"

I regretted it the second I said it, but judging by the way his face lit up, there was no taking it back.

"Sure!" he said excitedly.

Grimacing, I said, "Come on. We'd better go help them get their pool toys together, or they'll end up fighting over the octopus sand mold again."

He gave me a strange look like I was speaking a foreign language. Maybe to him, I was. It should have been funny, but all it did was remind me of the people we used to be and how far away those people were now.

Oh, Great Dragon, give me strength.

* * *

We walked to the Frutti Music Bar since I don't have a car. Nabu talked with Bay and Marlowe the whole time. I was almost annoyed with how good he was with my kids. Nobody lives up to Marlowe's standards.

"Hey, kiddos!" Bloom greeted cheerfully as we walked through the door. On the stage, Musa was singing a fun summer tune and Roxy waved at me from behind the bar. Bloom's smile dimmed when her eyes landed on Nabu.

"They're over there," she said flatly, pointing to a table in the back where Sky and Riven were none too discreetly peeking over the tops of their menus. I rolled my eyes.

Nabu cleared his throat awkwardly at the sight of how obvious his teammates were and answered, "Actually, I'm going to stay with Aisha."

That actually surprised me, although I don't know why. He was obviously excited when I offered to let him come with us instead of watching us from a distance. I guess I just kind of subconsciously expect him to disappear like he did before. Bloom looked surprised too.

"Oh. Well, then I guess I'll lead you guys to your seats."

Bloom led us to the table by the stage. Bay kept bouncing in his seat and pointing up at Musa saying, "Auntie Musa! Auntie Musa!"

She managed a little wave down at him before she started the next verse. Nabu immediately started up a conversation with Marlowe once they sat down. It struck me again how easily he won over my high maintenance little girl. Shaking my head to distract myself from the thought, I ordered our usual watermelon smoothies and got one for Nabu as well. While we waited for our food, I watched him tell Bay and Marlowe "fairy tales" about a magic group of fairies who fought evil and _always_ saved the day. That was one thing I noticed; he made it a point to emphasize that the fairies _always_ saved the day, despite all the odds stacked against them. His story captivated me, even though I knew how it was going to end. He had me on the edge of my seat with his storytelling skills, something I had always been envious of. Stories were never my strong suit, much to my children's chagrin. It only made me wonder how perfect we would be back together again.

 _No, Aisha, stop,_ I chastised myself internally. _He's from another world, another life, that you left behind a long time ago. Change isn't what you need right now. It's not even something you can afford right now. Stop swooning and drink your smoothie._

By the time the final battle came around, the smoothies had been long forgotten as Bay, Marlowe, and I sat hooked on his every word. With a grand explosion, the fairies saved the day and the world.

"The end," he finished, smiling down at Bay's beaming face. Satisfied, the little boy returned to his smoothie. Marlowe, however, wanted to know more.

"What next?" she demanded. "What happens to the fairies and the heroes?"

"They rode off into the sunset," Nabu answered as if that was obvious. Marlowe nodded seriously and mumbled, "Of course," but I snorted at the cheesy ending. Looking over at me with a smirk, he added, "And then they shared true love's kiss."

I almost choked on my smoothie. My face turned bright red as I coughed violently into my napkin. He looked very content with himself.

Glaring at him, I said, "Okay, that's enough of smoothies. Let's go to the beach."

Bay and Marlowe jumped out of their seats cheering and ran to the beach. I started to clean up the mess they left behind to make life a little easier for Bloom when Nabu said, "You know, that's my favorite story."

"Yeah, well, it was a little sugarcoated if you ask me," I responded grumpily.

"You didn't like it?"

I shrugged as I brought the trash to a bin by the door. He followed with the beach bags.

"Compared to the original? Not really."

"You always were more of a realist," I heard him mutter under his breath as we walked out to the beach. Letting his words roll around in my head for a while, I changed Bay and Marlowe into their bathing suits and covered them in sunscreen as he set up the umbrella and chairs. Did he really know me so well?

I let Bay and Marlowe play in the surf, warning them not to go past the first sandbar. Nabu took a seat next to me and tried to strike up a conversation.

"Are you going to get in the water?"

"Maybe later."

"Do you come here often?"

"Yeah."

"The weather sure is lovely today."

Noncommital grunt.

He eventually gave up and leaned back to take in the sun. I breathed a sigh of relief when he stopped talking because every word out of his mouth was another hit to the walls around my heart. I don't know how much more of this I could take. This was a bad idea. This was-

"Momma!"

My train of thought was cut short as Bay and Marlowe ran up to me and dumped a load of sandy, soaking seashells in my lap. I entertained them as they babbled about the shells to distract myself from the man listening intensely at my side. I had never been more grateful for my kids. (That's a lie, but I was feeling it in the moment.)

The rest of the day went by without a hitch. Once the sun had passed its high point in the sky, I joined my kids in the ocean as Nabu watched from the shore. Bay started begging that I take him and Marlowe out deeper, so I didn't even have to look at Nabu which was good. He was making me weaker by the minute. Next thing I know, I would be asking him to move in with me. I needed to get a grip. Dunking my head under water, I let myself get lost in the waves. The water always calmed me down, and right now was no exception. I immediately felt a sense of peace wash over me as the salt water tangled my hair. I opened my eyes and saw Bay and Marlowe floating underwater beside me, eyes wide and cheeks puffed out like little blowfish. I let out a laugh that made bubbles float up to the surface. I dragged them up with me and we laughed together. I may not be good at telling stories, but one thing I could always connect with my kids over is the ocean. All three of us felt the same pull towards the sea and I reminded myself that nothing- not even a storytelling, swoon-worthy wizard- could take that away from us.

When the sun started to set, we finally headed back to the shore. Nabu was starting to pack up our stuff, so I focused on changing Bay and Marlowe out of their bathing suits instead of fawning over how much of gentleman he was. Slipping on a coverup, we went back into the Frutti Music Bar, where Bloom was wiping tables and Musa was packing up her guitar. In the corner, Sky and Riven were still sitting and watching, now with orange and red smoothies in their hands, respectively. I walked over to where the band was packing up.

"Leaving early?" I asked Musa as she hopped off the stage.

She cast a sidelong glance at Riven from across the Frutti Music Bar and answered, "Yeah, I can't take much more of this. Plus, the guys have their own gigs later tonight."

I watched Nabu walk over to the two Specialists as Bloom joined me and Musa. Bay and Marlowe ran after Nabu; I went to stop them but then Nabu smiled down at them and held Marlowe's hand. I decided it wasn't a fight worth picking right then.

"Tell me about it," Bloom said as she joined us with an empty pitcher and a wet rag. She started cleaning off the table in front of them and she said, "If I have to hear them complain about Andy one more time-"

"Bloom!"

The redhead rolled her eyes and walked over to Sky's table where he and Riven were standing up and cleaning off their table. Musa and I followed for lack of anything better to do.

"Yes?" she asked in her waitress voice.

Sky smiled charmingly at her politeness, oblivious to how fake it was. I could see the hard look in her eyes falter at his innocent smile, before hardening again. Good to know that I wasn't the only one who was weak when it came to the ex-love of my life.

"Riven says he's going to head back with Musa soon-" Musa gave the magenta-haired specialist a look of disbelief- "so I was wondering when you'll be done."

Bloom started laughing and I joined in. Bay started laughing too, but I could tell he didn't understand why.

"That's funny," Bloom said as her laughter died down. She expertly wiped down their table. "The night shift just started. Stella isn't even here yet."

Sky cocked his head in confusion.

"Stella?"

Bloom opened her mouth to explain, but a loud argument drifted in from the front doors before she could.

"I've known Stella since June," a deep voice bragged.

"Well, I've known Stella since we were _teenagers_ ," a deeper voice gloated.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I-"

"Guys!" Stella interrupted as she got between both men standing in the doorway. "I get it. You both know me. Can I go to work now?"

Both men had the sense to look sheepish.

"Sorry, Stella."

The sun fairy sighed and said, "It's fine. Thanks for walking me, Ismail."

"Sure thing," the blond replied as he turned to leave before stopping suddenly. "Is he staying?"

Ismail and Stella turned to Brandon. Brandon looked back at us and then Ismail with a very un-Brandon-like smirk on his face.

"All night."

"Then I'm staying too," Ismail declared.

Stella put a hand on his shoulder.

"No, you are not. You have work in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow."

Brandon grinned triumphantly, but then Stella leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ismail's cheek. The brunet stomped over to us as Stella waved Ismail goodbye and went to clock in for work.

"What was that about?" Sky asked.

"There's this stupid boy with this stupid floppy hair who always walks Stella to stupid work."

I rolled my eyes and shared a look with Musa. It had taken a long time to convince Stella to pursue who made her happy, so I only hoped the Specialists wouldn't derail all the work we had done.

Bloom walked over to Stella and helped her tie her apron as the bright girl pulled her hair into a ponytail. I could see from all the way over here that she was listening to Stella rant. Hopefully, this wouldn't put her off men completely. Ismail was a nice guy with a good job and a great way with kids. It also didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes. She deserved someone like him in her life.

"Brandon, you better back off," I heard as I turned back to the conversation Musa was having. "We worked really hard to get those two together and you can't just come in here messing everything up with your biceps and your big brown eyes."

Brandon smiled, pleased with himself, as Musa wagged a finger in his face. The music fairy glared at him.

"Who is that guy anyway?" Riven asked the petite fairy. "What's his deal?"

"That is Ismail Heyer," she answered. "He works at the same law firm as Tecna and he and Stella have maintained a steady flirtationship since summer."

Turning back to Brandon, she added, "So back off."

The brunet held his hands up defensively, but he did not look at all sorry for his actions. We would have to work on that.

"Ready to go?" Musa asked me.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just grab the kids. Bay, Marlowe, it's time to go."

Both kids started whining, of course, because obviously, I had just shattered their entire world, but I ignored their complaints and their pleas for five more minutes at the Frutti Music Bar as I grabbed Marlowe's hand and made her hold her brother's hand. Musa grabbed some of the extra beach gear in the hand that wasn't holding her guitar case and led us out to the parking lot where her van was parked. She put down her guitar case and unlocked the door, letting the kids inside first. Then we put all the beach gear and her guitar case in the trunk. When we turned to get in the van, we saw Riven and Nabu watching us expectantly.

"Do you need something?" Musa asked none too nicely.

"No," Riven answered. "But we are coming with you."

"Uh, no, you're not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are-"

"Musa!" I had said at the same time Nabu shouted: "Riven!"

We both looked at each other sheepishly before turning back to our childish friends.

"Seriously?"

"What?" the Asian girl defended. "He was getting on my nerves."

"Come on."

I gave her a look and she caved.

"Look," she said, turning to the two quietly bickering Specialists. "I have to pick up Tess from daycare. I don't have time to drop you guys off wherever you're staying."

"Where _are_ you guys staying anyway?" I butted in.

"Uhh..."

Riven and Nabu shared a panicked look. After a few seconds of indecipherable half sentences, I decided I should just cut them off.

"We were-"

"It's in a-"

"Kind of-"

"Nevermind. I don't care anymore."

Turning away from the two men, I climbed into the van. I felt like more should have been said like a polite "I had a good time" or a cordial "you should come with us next time" or at least a "sorry we're abandoning you in a parking lot." In the end, I just settled for waving out the window as I took a seat.

I focused on buckling Bay and Marlowe in two of the many car seats that Musa kept in her van for the many kids who took a ride to daycare in it. Musa's van was really cool in that she had gotten it from this old hippie guy she used to play shows with. The entire inside was gutted and hideously cushioned seats were lined up all along the interior so that it wrapped around the van. It was as big as a shuttle bus, but the windows were covered with faded paisley curtains and hanging from the roof in the back were two atrocious hanging plants. On the dashboard sat a wide variety of bobbleheads and two fuzzy dice hung from the rearview mirror. Next to a plastic crate full of vinyl records, a folding TV dinner table covered with assorted snacks and trash sat by the driver's seat which was directly across from the school bus-like door. An emergency exit on the roof was covered with Lisa Frank stickers and glow-in-the-dark stars, courtesy of our children, and the floor was covered with a patchwork carpet made up of a variety of garish 70s designs. A green throw rug stapled to the roof for no apparent reason tied the whole look together. Musa graciously accepted the hippie man's offer after checking that there were no drugs stashed away in the throw pillows or storage compartments. While not exactly my style, I felt the haphazard van suited Musa perfectly.

Musa talked about how her day went while Bay and Marlowe fell fast asleep, but all I could think about was the man we had left behind in the parking lot. Was he truly back for good? And if so, should I just let him back into our lives?

If only they hadn't come so late.

* * *

When we got to the Carriage House, we went around the back to the entrance to Flora's actual home. We were surprised to find that the one who opened the door wasn't Flora or any of the triplets, but Helia.

"Hello, girls," he greeted as pleasantly as always. "Are you here to pick up Tessitura?"

"Yes, but, um, where's Flora?" Musa asked, standing on the tips of her toes to look over his shoulder.

He took a step back to let us into the bright yellow kitchen. The walls were handpainted with smiley flowers and winking suns. Tiny handprints in bright primary colors wrapped all around the crown molding. Dangerous objections were safety-proofed with rubber or plastic caps and all the appliances had labels with their names in English, Spanish, and Mandarin written in bold comic sans. It wasn't that hard to guess that she worked in a daycare.

"Flora's upstairs with the kids," Helia answered, leading us through the house even though we knew our way already. He looked into every room like he was trying to imprint it into his mind. He started turning down the wrong hallway when the sound of children's laughter turned him in the right direction. He led us to Vera's room, a nightmare of hot pink and sequins everywhere. All the kids were playing there along with Flora, who had busted out an antique dollhouse for the kids to play with.

"Mama, come see!" Tess exclaimed when she saw her mother at the door. Musa laughed and went to kneel down with the kids and join their game. Bay and Marlowe rushed to join them.

I looked between Tess and Musa, once again amazed by their similarity. If Eddie was the spitting image of his father, then Tess was an exact replica of her mother. They both had impish smiles and milky white skin as well as inky black hair. Tess even wore hers in little pigtails like Musa used to except instead of bobbing on the top of her head, Tess's pigtails sat on the nape of her neck. She was also the tiniest of all the children, excluding Marlowe, despite the fact that Tess was the second birth after Bloom's twins. They also shared the same love of music and performing.

I noticed both sets of twins were still there playing. Pulling out my phone, I scrolled until I found Bloom's contact name _fire fairy_ with two flame emojis behind it.

"Who is this?" a deep voice demanded when the phone picked up.

"Uh, no, who is _this_?" I asked.

"Listen, I'm asking the questions, buddy. Who is this?"

"Woah, no need to get testy. Where's Bloom and why are you answering her phone?"

"She's working. Seriously, who is this?"

"Dude, calm down and give the phone to Bloom."

"Not until you tell me who you are, Heartthrob."

"Heartthrob? Why would you- ohhhh... Sky. Is this about Bloom's contact name for me? Wait a second, are you jealous?"

"Pfft. Me? Jealous? Why would I be jealous of a guy with such a girly voice?"

"That's because I am a girl."

"Wait, what? Who is this?"

"It's Aisha, idiot. I can't believe- never mind. Just give Bloom the phone."

"Yeah, sure, okay."

To my left, Helia was silently laughing at the exchange as I waited for Sky to find Bloom. From the other side of the phone, I could hear distant yelling about how it's rude to answer someone else's phone and how he had no right to interrogate her friends. Then he got mad because she had a whole bunch of cutesy contacts names in her phone. From my side, it sounded pretty stupid, so I just waited patiently for Bloom to finish scolding him and answer the phone.

"Hey, Aisha, sorry about that."

"No problem, dude. Listen, I'm at Flo's right now. Do you want me to grab the twins?"

"Seriously? That would be awesome. You're the best."

"Sure thing. Do me a favor and ask Stella if she wants me to grab Lilly and Arty too."

"Will do." There was a muffled shout across the Frutti Music Bar as Bloom held the phone away from her face to ask Stella. "She says she would be eternally grateful."

"Okay, give her my love. I'll see you later tonight. Love ya."

"Love you too."

I turned back to the playing kids and filled Musa in on the plan. We started gathering the kids together when Musa's phone rang.

"Bloom?" she asked. "Is this Sky?... Why do you want to know?... Is this about the contact name?"

I burst out laughing along with Helia who knew what was going on.

"What does she have it as?... Love of my life? That's so Bloom. Tell her that I feel the same... You need to chill. This is just Musa... Okay, whatever. I'm hanging up now. Bye, Sky."

A second later Flora's phone rang.

"... This is Flora... Sweetheart? Aww, Bloom is so sweet... no, this isn't a suitor... Sky, Earth doesn't have suitors anymore... mhmm... okay, well, it was nice talking to you. Okay, buh-bye now."

The nature fairy hung up the phone and started laughing which led to the rest of us falling over in laughter. It wasn't till Bay tugged on my sleeve that I sobered up.

"Momma, can we go home?" he whispered once I knelt down to his level.

"Sure thing, baby. Hey, Muse, Bay's getting tired. We should go."

"Okay, let's go. Again, thanks so much for watching them, Flo. You're a saint."

Flora smiled sweetly as Flora does and answered, "No, it was an absolute pleasure. Tessitura is an angel."

"Okay, I'm going to ignore that out-and-out lie," Musa laughed, "because we all know that Tess can definitely be a hellion. Especially when she's with the twins."

I laughed and bid my goodbyes to Flora with a hug and waved goodbye to the triplets. Helia led Musa and I along with all of the children back to the van. I noted that the sun had set a long time ago and the city was dark. I wondered briefly how long Helia's walk would be, which led to another thought as we were corralling the kids into the van.

"Helia, where are you guys staying?"

His eyes widened for maybe half a second before a calm smile spread across his face and he answered, "Sky has it all sorted out."

"Uhh... okay. Goodnight then."

He nodded and headed back inside.

After buckling all the kids into their multitude of car seats, I went to sit up front with Musa. She turned the radio down so as not to wake the kids who were quickly falling asleep.

"That was... weird," I commented. Musa nodded, pulling out of Flora's driveway.

"He's always been kind of off to me. He's a little... bland if you ask me."

"He's Helia. He's always been that way. Though the short hair is really throwing me off."

"Same."

We sat in silence for a few minutes before Musa asked, "Is this weird for anyone else?"

"Is what weird?"

She shrugged and pushed her bangs out of her face. "I don't know. It's just... they're back. The one thing I learned to get over is now back in town and he won't leave me alone. He's there and he's talking to me and he's smiling at me and he's got a new weird haircut, but it's him."

"I know what you mean."

"Do you? I saw you with Nabu today, having a little family day at the beach. Don't think I didn't notice you getting all goo-goo-eyed at him."

"Excuse me?" I asked. I could not believe she just said that. "I'm not going to apologize for being susceptible to love, no matter how buried it is. He's so different and I'm so different, but he's still Nabu and I'm still Aisha. I can't just forget the fact that once upon a time it was him and me forever. Don't judge me for being able to do what you're too afraid to do."

Finally voicing my thoughts made me feel better but chewing out Musa made me feel like a bitch. I was only defending myself, but still, she's my best friend.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I feel so alone, y'know? All day today Bloom and Sky have been flirting like we're back in high school and meanwhile I can't look at Riven without feeling scared for my life."

I gave her a concerned look and she explained, "Not my actual life, but, like, the life I've built for myself here. I know I'm supposed to run right back into his arms, but Riven's never been an easy guy. He's still so... y'know, and that terrifies me. He could change everything and I don't know if I want that."

In that moment, I decided I wouldn't let Nabu get to me so much. What we were doesn't mean we have to be anything in the future. Musa was right; I liked my life now, despite the measures I have to go to just to make ends meet. Nabu was a variable and I was much stronger than this. Plus, my girl needed me and, as a wise woman once said, hoes before bros.

"You're right, Musa," I told her. "I let myself get all swept up in the emotions that I used to feel. I mean, I'm not ready for another relationship. Not after Daniel." She nodded in understanding. "I'll stand with you. Hopefully, we can get through this and they won't figure out who the fathers are before they figure out who's hunting us."

Musa smiled at me. "Thanks, A. You just saying that means a lot."

"Anytime, girl."

She pulled into the driveway of our apartment building, so we woke up the kids, barring Marlowe who would never go back to sleep, and led them all inside. She took Bloom's twins and I took Stella's, helping them set up a pillow fort in Bay's room so all three of them could sleep together. It was difficult getting them down, but fortunately Lilly and Arty knew how to put themselves to bed considering the late hours Stella had to work. Bay, of course, still demanded a glass of milk and at least three stories, ten kisses, and four hugs. That's my boy for ya.

Even as I laid Marlowe down in bed and went to shower, my conversation with Musa kept replaying in my mind. Was this really the best decision? Who was I to get in the way of true love? But was true love really what I had with Nabu all those years ago? Or is the love I have now for my kids the true love that I'm destined for? And is hiding the paternity from my children and their father truly the right way to go? I couldn't sleep and that night I dreamt I was in Nabu's story, fighting the final battle against Valtor. Except this time he won and there was no true love's kiss at the end.

I woke up to screaming.

* * *

 **If you don't know what I'm talking about when I mention phases or the Cliché Project, check out my profile page where I explain it in detail. I have the whole plan written out on there. While you're there, take the poll on whether or not I should name Icy's son Caspian, Winter, or Frost. Check out my new Winx next gen story _The Finer The Line_ and shoot me a PM if you have an idea for my stories or the Cliché** **Project.**

 **Also, FireSpark500, I'll tell you the same thing I told Dragonheart. Write your own story and PM me when it's done. You seem to have some great ideas of your own, and they've crossed the line from suggestions to demands, so I would appreciate it if you let me write my story without forcing your opinions on me. I'd love it if you kept reading and reviewing, seeing as I do appreciate any and all input, but from now on, please keep in mind that we all have different ideas and opinions. Thank you.**

 **Love, Ru**


	7. An Attack to the Home and the Heart

**I miss y'all and y'all's input, so if it isn't too much of an imposition, please review with which POV I should do next (Flora, Tecna, or Bloom) and why you want them to be next. Also, please take the poll on my page and talk to me about the Cliché Project.**

 **As for the last poll, you all voted for Icy's son to be named CASPIAN! Congratulations to everyone who voted for him!**

 **Check out _The Finer The Line_ and take the survey at the top por favor. I'm struggling and I need some help with that too.**

 **Okay, ignore my begging and please enjoy.**

* * *

 **Musa**

Four hours ago I had put Tess to bed. Now I was hiding in the corner of her bedroom with her tiny body wrapped in my arms as we watched an epic battle unfold in her baseball-themed bedroom. I'd fill you in, but I literally just woke up to someone screaming and saw this going on. I'm just as confused as you, if not more so.

"You try so hard to protect the little brat," the cloaked figure taunted as they threw another ball of energy. "Do you even know who you are fighting to protect?"

Panic seized me when I saw the puzzled look on his face. _Please don't piece it together. Please don't piece it together._

"I don't care that she's not my kid," Riven argued as he deflected attack after attack with his phantoblade. "Being a hero is my job."

I knew it was a cheesy line but I was too terrified to roll my eyes. I was also relieved that my strange assailant hadn't given away my secret. They apparently didn't like it either because they summoned all their strength into the weird little gem holding their cloak together and fired what looked from where I was sitting like a wall of energy.

By some miracle- maybe not, maybe he had just gotten _that_ good since I'd last seen him- Riven managed to deflect the wall of purple energy back into their body with his phantoblade, knocking them back into Tess's bat rack. The hood of the cloak came flying back to reveal a narrow, pointed face and curly black hair. The girl in the cloak gasped in surprise and disappeared before I could even blink.

My chest was heaving as I tried to regulate my breathing, although I didn't know why because I hadn't been doing anything. Tess shivered in my arms, taking in big gulps of air as well. My heart ached for my baby, but even more so for the truth. Who are these people and why are they attacking us?

"Are you guys okay?" Riven asked, much more out of breath than me and already starting to bruise.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," I answered, struggling to find words. I licked my lips, hoping it would loosen my shock-addled tongue. "What- what was that?"

"Those stupid Whisperians," he grunted out as he lowered himself onto the bed stiffly.

I heard my front door bang against the wall followed by the sound of Aisha's voice.

"Musa! Musa, are you okay?!"

The water fairy came running into the room, hands raised with magic swirling at each. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed with her hair up in a messy bun and her robe on backward. Her magic was drowsily flickering at her fingers and her eyes were wide with sleep-deprivation.

"What happened? What's going on?"

"It's fine. They're gone."

"Those freaks attacked again?"

"It was just one this time," I explained. "Riven fought her off. Her hood fell off and we saw her face. Then she disappeared."

"It was a girl?"

I nodded and went to leave the room. I needed to get out of there. His eyes were boring holes into the back of my head. Aisha followed me into the living room and hovered over me as I plopped into the armchair, letting the plush envelop me like a warm embrace. I started singing soothing melodies to get Tess to calm down. Before Aisha could start interrogating me, which I could tell she wanted to do, the other Winx and Specialists filed into my apartment, ready to fight.

"I heard a scream. What's going on?" Bloom demanded, falling back into the role of leader naturally. Alex and Bella came with her, meaning she must have come to pick them up at some time in the middle of the night. I felt guilty that I hadn't thought about the twins during the attack. It was pure luck that they were already out of the apartment.

Riven limped out of the hall and into the main room. The Winx and Specialists jumped to attention again, making Tess start crying all over again. I glared at the lot of them and began singing again.

"We were attacked," Riven explained gruffly.

"I told you they were going to make their move tonight," Timmy insisted at the same time that Stella said, "Oh, you poor darlings."

She rushed over to our chair and fussed over Tess and I. Tecna hurried over to Tess's bedroom before anyone even said a word, closely followed by Timmy. Nabu went to check on Aisha, who brushed him off, so instead, he moved to check on Riven, who also brushed him off.

The next few minutes were a flurry of overwhelming questions and condolences. At one point, I looked over Tess's head at Riven and we shared an exasperated look. He rolled his eyes which made me crack a smile before I remembered not to. The camaraderie was nice. I missed it, even though I knew I shouldn't. Tess was still hiccuping against my chest, reminding me of my priorities. I scowled at him, but he still looked pretty pleased with himself. My scowl deepened.

"Musa, are you sure you're okay?" Brandon asked, noticing my scowl. I scowled at him too, so he backed away.

"I found a trace!" Tecna shouted from the hall. She raced into the room with a gadget clutched in her hand and Timmy hot on her heels.

" _We_ found a trace," Timmy corrected before a stern look from Tecna shut him up.

"Where does it lead?" Bloom asked. The Winx and Specialists moved to crowd around the techno fairy, staring at the lines on the screen as if we could understand any of it.

"Back to Whisperia," she answered, voice low and ominous. Sky looked annoyed.

"We already know that. Could you pinpoint it?"

"With some more time? Yeah," Tecna answered peeved, the prince's tone not going unnoticed by her. "It would help if I knew what she looked like."

"I could show you my memory," I offered at the same time that Sky said, "What difference would that make?"

"Because, Sky," Nabu replied, sounding just as annoyed as Tecna, "it's easier to find something if you know what you're looking for."

Turning to me, Nabu offered, "I have could find a memory-pulling spell. If that's okay with you."

Looking down at Tess in my arms, I nodded.

"Great. I'll have it by noon tomorrow," he said with a charming grin. He rushed out of the room, the door swinging open behind him.

"Mother?" Eddison walked through the swinging door, chubby hand rubbing at his sleepy eye. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, darling," Tecna assured him, ruffling his bubblegum pink locks as he wrapped his arms around her leg. "Go back to bed."

He smiled up at her sleepily and went to curl up next to me on the armchair. I laughed when he dozed off. Tess giggled too.

"Eddie's sleepy," she told me with a grin. I nodded and stood, setting her down in my place. She began petting Eddie's hair as I made my way over to the other adults.

"Nabu and Tecna, if you both come to the Frutti Music Bar at noon tomorrow during my lunch break, we can do that spell in the employee break room," I suggested. Lowering my voice, I added, "I don't feel safe knowing they can teleport into my apartment."

Riven placed a hand on my shoulder, affirming, "That's why we're here: to protect you."

I shrugged off his hand and crossed my arms. He glared and shoved an accusatory finger in my face.

"Maybe if you weren't so goddamn ungrateful-"

"Maybe if you weren't such a chauvinistic pig-"

"I saved your life!"

"For yourself! Because you think we can be-"

"You're so difficult!"

A soft sobbing shook me out of my red haze. I turned to see Alex comforting a crying Tess.

"Oh no, peanut, don't-"

It was too late. Tess ran down the hall and the twins hurried after her, leaving Eddie confused on the armchair. Riven reached out his hand again.

"Musa, I-"

"This is all _your_ fault!"

Before he could drag me into another argument, I ran after Tess and stopped in front of her door. Waiting for a breath, a knocked lightly on her door. No answer.

"Tess?"

Still no answer. Some hushed whispers behind the door told me that the twins had followed her inside.

"Tess, I'm sorry."

I leaned against the door and pressed an ear to the wood. I could hear quiet sniffles being shushed on the other side, then soft footsteps. I stood back as the doorknob jiggled and Bella stuck her head out.

"Auntie, Tess is sad," she told me, blue eyes round and pink lips pouty.

I nodded and said, "I know, sweetheart. Can you let me in?"

"Otay." She opened the door and walked further into the room, announcing, "I'm letting your mommy in."

Bella left the room with Alex after patting Tess on the hand. I took a seat beside her on her bed, still in disarray from the fight. She was curled up under her covers with only her magenta eyes poking over the top. She avoided looking at me, choosing instead to look around the room at all the posters that had fallen off her wall and finally landing on the giant scorch mark next to her vanity.

"Who's my daddy?"

"What?"

I stared at my daughter in shock as the conversation took an unexpected turn. She sat up, wrapping herself in her comforter like a cocoon. She was too young to be burdened with any of this, but her pleading eyes demanded answers. It broke my heart to deny her anything, but this I knew was for the best.

"I wanna know who my daddy is."

"I know you do, peanut, but he isn't here anymore."

"Why? Is he dead?"

I winced.

"No, he isn't dead. He just... left."

"Because he doesn't love you?"

"Not... necessarily, no," I replied, noticing her confusion. Her questions were opening old wounds, but she deserved answers. "He had a job, peanut, that he couldn't get out of. He loves me very much and he loves you too."

Tears were threatening to fall from my eyes as they pooled in my vision and blurred Tess's lovely magenta eyes. I reached out a hand to stroke her tan, chubby cheek and let out a shaky breath. After a second she smiled before rolling over and drifting to sleep. I just sat there and looked at her for a while, memorizing every inch of her so that I could close my eyes and see her cherubic face. I didn't realize how long I'd been sitting there watching her when someone clearing their throat behind me shook me out of my stupor.

"Musa, are you sure you're okay?" Riven asked.

Wiping a tear from my eye, I replied, "Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking."

He grunted gruffly and turned to leave when I felt the strong urge to say something, anything to get him to look at me a little longer with those lovely magenta eyes.

"I'm sorry."

He looked over his shoulder, quirking a curious eyebrow.

"For arguing with you. You were right. I was being ungrateful and I'm sorry."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, too, for blowing up on you out there. I forgot Tess was in the room and it all slipped out before I could catch myself."

Quietly standing from her bed, I crept over to the hallway and shut the door behind me. Leaning back against it, I looked up at Riven who had always towered over me but seemed even more looming in the low lighting of the past midnight moon. All of his sharp lines cast shadows over the clefts of his face. The darkness clung to him like Tess on her first day of daycare. I saw so much of my little girl in his face.

"Musa," he said, soft and low and romantic like the past-midnight moon. I found myself leaning forward without even realizing it. I was almost a goner before my senses kicked in.

I threw myself back from him, slamming dramatically against the door and hoping beyond hope I didn't wake up Tess. He was breathing heavy for some reason and I squeaked out a "Goodnight!" before running off to jump in bed. For extra measure, I locked the door, not trusting myself to be prudent. Why did he have to bring out the worst in me?

* * *

"Okay, where do you want me?"

"Sitting down in the middle should be fine."

I sat cross-legged in the center of the circle Nabu had drawn on the floor of the employee break room. I couldn't really see his face with only his candles to light the room, but I could see his golden staff gleaming in his hand. The purple orb at the top looked like a winking eye in the flickering light. He walked around the circle and his swishing robes made me scared he would catch fire, but he seemed to know what he was doing.

"The spell's going to feel like someone's digging around in your head," Nabu explained. "It shouldn't hurt, but it will feel uncomfortable. Don't worry, I'll finish fast."

"Sounds just like my first time."

I laughed as he started choking on air. His face turned bright red and he cleared his throat.

"Ha. Funny." He loosened his collar with the crook of his finger and said, "When is Tecna getting here?"

Just then, Tecna walked in, making sure to pull the door shut behind her.

"Hey, do you guys know that Mark is lurking around the door?" she said, taking her satchel off and pulling out her laptop.

"Yeah," I replied. "Mark's into this voodoo stuff, so I just told him we were doing that and he agreed to be the lookout for us."

I could see Tecna contemplating in the light of her laptop. She blew a lock of purple hair out of her face, fingers flying across the keyboard. Her hair had grown much longer, nearly past her shoulders, and the details of her face had sharpened, losing the dull curves of youth as single parenthood took its toll. Looking up at Nabu, I noted the differences in his countenance as well. His chin was much more square and his worry lines ran deeper than the last time I saw him. Also new were the foreign tattoos running up his arms in sleeves. The symbols didn't look familiar, but their blunt, dark lines glowed a faint purple every time he used his magic in preparation for the locator spell. I also didn't fail to notice his lack of a braid. Is it weird that I felt like I was missing an old friend? How much had changed when he had been away?

"Yo, Nabu," I called out, distracting the wizard in the middle of a candle-lighting spell. He turned to face me, a polite eyebrow quirked in question. "What happened while you were away?"

In the corner of my eye, I saw Tecna briefly look up at us before going back to her work but the distant look in her eyes told me she wasn't even paying attention to anything on the screen. After all, I wasn't the only one to wonder in the years they'd been away.

"That's top secret, Musa. Sorry," he replied as goodnaturedly as I always remembered him to be. That was another thing about Nabu: I couldn't demonize him like I had the other Specialists. When they left, I found ways to hate them all, finding faults in their personalities to somehow explain their abuse as something we should have expected all along. But with Nabu, I never could reconcile him with his abandonment. From the beginning, he was just too much of a nice guy for anyone to hate, even when we thought he was working for Valtor, and when he left, I couldn't help but expect him to come back the next day with a goofy grin on his face while he explained to us that it was another one of his dumb jokes. I still kind of am waiting for him to tell me, five years later, that he had been kidding or he had been forced or he had been planning a surprise party. Stupid, I know.

"Just, uh-"

We both looked to Tecna as she bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows, searching for the words.

"Could you tell us if it was worth it?"

I knew she had crossed a line when Nabu sighed and went back to his magic and I could tell she knew too by the regret in her teal eyes. She winced and went back to clicking away on the keyboard. The room went quiet again as I waited for the preparations to be over.

When the spells had been cast and the software set up, Nabu told me to close my eyes and go back to the beginning of the night. He talked me through the memory and when I opened my eyes, Tecna had apparently seen what she needed to see. We were dismissed and Nabu left the Frutti Music Bar as quickly as possible.

"It shouldn't take me long to triangulate your assailant's location," Tecna explained, "now that I can see her face."

"Good," I said. "I want to find her as quick as possible to spell her in the face for attacking my baby."

Tecna laughed.

"Until then, I have the better part of an hour before I have to head back to work." She offered, "Want to get some smoothies? It's on me."

"Gladly."

We grinned and hooked arms as we headed over to the bar.

* * *

"I feel really bad," she told me later as we finished our smoothies. "I know he's just as much at fault as the others, but I've always hated hurting Nabu's feelings, you know?"

I nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I get it," I said. "It's Nabu. Who would want to hurt those big brown eyes?"

"Nabu has dark blue eyes."

"What? Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes at my technically-minded friend. I corrected, "Who would want to hurt those big dark blue eyes?"

"I've never met him, but I would definitely love to put him in his place after what they did to you," Roxy said as she came over to collect our empty smoothies. "As the biased best friend, I'm not obligated to like them."

I smiled and laughed because I couldn't expect Roxy to possibly understand the layers to this issue and because I was grateful for her support, no matter how violent it may be.

"I heard about what happened last night," she said, taking a seat at our table. "Is Tess okay? Bloom told my dad and I this morning and we were really worried."

"She's fine, just a little shaken up." With a cheeky grin, I added, "Did you tell Noah too? Because he texted me a few hours ago to let me know he would be sending a fruit basket and flowers and that he would gladly watch Tess the entire day to make sure that nothing happened to her."

She laughed and blushed, making me miss being a lovestruck teen for the first time in years.

"I called him after I found out," she said, scratching the back of her neck as the blush crept into her neckline. "You know how he hates being left out of the loop."

Tecna laughed and chimed in, "Yes, I distinctly remember being woken up at two in the morning because we didn't invite Noah to the kids' Easter recital and he decided that it warranted climbing through my window to ask me if I had gotten it on video."

I spit some of my smoothie onto the table as I laughed at the old memory.

"Okay, okay, but what about the time..."

We took turns reminiscing about Noah and Roxy and the kids and everything else until we were as red in the face as Roxy had been when we mentioned her sweetheart. My stomach was starting to cramp from laughing so hard by the time Tecna announced that her lunch break was almost over. We said our goodbyes as Roxy went back to man the bar and I returned to the stage.

"How was your voodoo stuff?" Rio asked as I got behind my keyboard. He started tapping out a beat on the rim of the Yamaha subconsciously.

I nodded.

"Good."

He laughed, bumping me with his shoulder to stand beside me behind the keys. I nudged him back and soon we were chasing each other around the stage in a game of tag. I dashed around the drumset and between Andy and whichever backup singer he was flirting with today and spun around Mark in my mad dash to get away from Rio. I screamed whenever he got close to catching me, the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Eventually, he tapped me and it was my turn to catch him, but in my attempt to corner him in the corner of the stage, I almost fell over the edge. Thank goodness Rio has those twitchy drummer reflexes because the only thing stopping me from faceplanting on the ground was his hand wrapped around my wrist. He tugged me into his chest. I pushed my hair back and panted as my heartbeat regulated. He started laughing and so did I until a rough cough ruined our fun.

"What's going on here?"

We both turned to face Riven where he stood angrily at the base of the stage.

"Nothing," I answered flippantly. "Riven, this is my bandmate Rio. Rio, this is my ex-boyfriend Riven."

"Nice to meet you," Rio said, holding out a hand to shake to which Riven replied with a grunt before turning back to me.

"How'd the spell go?" he asked gruffly.

Rio snickered and shook his head.

"You guys should meet my grandma. She's just as into that crazy santeria stuff as Mark."

Shaking his head, he walked away laughing, leaving me with Riven. I sat down on the edge of the stage and crossed my arms.

"Tecna says she should get the results soon. She's going to run a preliminary scan while her office is in a meeting and then track that chick once she gets home."

"Good."

I rolled my eyes and hopped off the stage.

"I'm clocking out early. They have my recordings."

Grabbing my bag, I started strutting away. Riven hurried after me.

"Musa, wait."

I obliged but he had nothing to say, so I started walking again. He ran after me onto the patio.

"No, no, Musa, listen. I'm sorry."

That stopped me in my tracks.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for leaving you."

I couldn't see him from where he was standing behind me, but I was sure he was tearing up. Or maybe that was me.

"It's my fault you're being hunted and it's my fault you live in that tiny apartment and it's my fault you moved to Earth and it's my fault you got knocked up by some rando and it's my fault that your heart is broken."

My heart was racing and my vision was swimming with tears. I didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. Anger was the first response my mind came up with to deal with my emotions.

"Yeah, it is your fault. You're finally right about something for the first time in your screwed up life."

His face hardened and his fists clenched. I'm stronger than him, though, and I've fought more battles, saved more lives. I can do this.

"Musa, I'm trying to apologize," he said through gritted teeth.

I crossed my arms and replied, "And I'm trying to get it through your thick skull that nothing you can say can make up for what you did."

"I'm trying to make up for it!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

My world turned red as my sight clouded over with anger.

"You tell me you're leaving on a mission the day of the mission! You break up with me a second later! You shout at me for an infidelity I've yet to commit! Does any of this sound familiar?" I cried, stepping into his personal space so that our chests are nearly touching. At that moment, I hated him so much. He was a face for every struggle I'd encountered up to that point. "You don't come back because you've 'grown attached' to your new life! You don't come back! You break my heart again! You leave me with-"

I cut myself off before I gave away a secret I couldn't afford to part with. He was so angry and so sad.

"What? What did I leave you with?" he asked. "And what do you mean 'grown attached'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you realize that the last thing you ever said to me was 'Why do you have to be so fucking difficult?' Those were the last words you ever said to me. That was the memory you left me with."

"I know and I'm sorry. I should have said I love you and I should have hugged you and I should have never taken on this stupid mission."

"Yeah, well, futures aren't built on should haves."

Bloom rushed out to the patio at that moment, demanding that Riven leave for harassing the staff and bothering the customers. He was quiet, so I left, heart heavy with secrets and a horribly bleeding love. Hopefully, spending some time with Flora at the daycare would help me cool down.

* * *

"Flo, I don't think I can take much more of this," I said from where I was sitting on the kitchen counter as I watched my best friend juggle a crying three-year-old on her hip as a five-year-old chased a six-year-old around her legs. A nearby four-year-old was helping a different five-year-old- my daughter actually- smuggle cereal out of the cabinets.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," the nature fairy said as she lifted Tess off the counter and sent her away with the other kids. With a sigh, she began picking up the cereal that had spilled. I watched. "Did the memory spell at least go well?"

"Yeah it did, but why does he have to be such an asshole? I mean, to ask me why I hate him? He knows very well why I hate him. And to be so rude to Rio? Ugh."

"Oh, Rio? How is he? How's his grandma?"

"Good. And then he was arguing with me on the patio, talking about how he felt and how much he loved me when, if he really loved me, he would have acted like it!"

"Rio?"

"No, Riven."

"Oh."

Flora came to lean against the countertop I was sitting on and offered, "You look like you need a drink."

She reached into the fridge and pulled out two juice boxes, opening mine for me out of habit and handing me the little box. Clinking them together like wine glasses, she sipped on the straw and watched a cartoon on the tiny TV in the kitchen.

"So how's business been?" I asked my friend. "Booming, I'm sure."

She nodded, but the look on her face was more pensive than happy.

"Yeah, but it's getting to be a little more than I can handle. I mean, I have on average about seventeen kids every day, not counting my own, with only teenage volunteers to help out. And Mindy and Martha are on vacation with their family this week, so I've been doing it all by myself. I don't know how Mrs. Tildwater managed."

Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, I replied, "Ethel didn't have nearly as many kids enrolled at the Carriage House in her time. And she had full-time staff. Maybe you should put out hiring signs. It's summer, so everyone's looking for a job."

"I don't know if I can afford to pay someone to work here. That's why I'm closing tomorrow."

"That sounds like a great idea, Flo."

We were quiet as we watched a cartoon cat chase a cartoon mouse around a cartoon house with a cartoon tennis racket. It was a clever mouse.

"So... Helia comes around pretty often..."

She turned to me with a warning look.

"Musa, don't. He's just being helpful."

"Yeah, sure," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes in case she couldn't read my tone. Flora sometimes has trouble reading tone. Using air quotes, I said, "He's just being 'helpful'."

Flora glared at me and snatched my juice box out of my hand, throwing it in the trash.

"Hey!"

"That's what you get for asking silly questions," she said, turning up her nose.

I muttered under my breath, "It was an observation, but okay."

"Musa, do you honestly think I don't know what Helia's up to?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not dense," the nature fairy said, letting her shoulders sag and her arms drop. "I want to believe he's just being a nice guy, but I see the way he looks at the kids. He wants to know. And judging by the way the kids look at him, they want to know too. I don't know how much longer I can hide this from them."

I opened my mouth to give some speech about staying strong but then I got some awful déjà vu from my argument with Aisha the night before. I settled for a gentle suggestion instead.

"I don't know if you should let him get this close, Flo," I said tentatively so as not offend the sensitive woman. "You'll fall for him again, if you haven't already, and you'll forget what he's done."

Flora was quiet.

"I feel like I should be more upset at him."

I nodded in understanding. She went on.

"I shouldn't be as okay with his being here as I am. I should- I should be angry. I should be furious at him. I should be throwing things and shouting. Why aren't I shouting?"

She looked at me with such a sad look that my heart broke for her. I never wanted to see her hurt ever again, but I knew that that was unrealistic. Still, if I could spare her any pain...

"Helia isn't it, Flora. Neither is Griffin, but Helia isn't it."

Flora sighed and turned back to the cartoons. I did too before realization struck me.

"Flora, shouldn't you be in the main room?" I asked.

"I'm on break."

"Since when do you have a break?"

"Since Helia offered to watch the kids for a few minutes."

"He's out there all alone?"

Her jade eyes widened as she realized her mistake. Just because he was a pacifist did not mean he had any experience raising children. Especially the hellions at the Carriage House.

Flora and I rushed out the door expecting total chaos only to be surprised by the sight of Helia in a tiara have a tea party with Prim, Arty, Bella, and a few other kids. He looked up at us and smiled charmingly.

"Oh, hi. Has it already been ten minutes?"

Flora just stared flabberghasted as a little girl poured imaginary tea into his cup and he pretended to sip it with his pinky finger raised high in the air. The two of us shared a look before she slowly made her way over to the congregation.

"Where are the rest of the kids?" she asked.

Helia pointed to the few huddling in the corner and replied, "Starting an uprising."

"What?"

"We're the one percent and we're coming up with a plot to squash the rebellion," he replied nonchalantly. "I'm teaching them how to overthrow a government."

Flora stammered, "Wh-wh-why, why would you teach them that?"

He stood, calling times on the resistance. Striding over to them, Helia took of his tiara and asked, "Is it too much? I was trying to come up with something they'd all enjoy."

"Uh..."

Flora looked to me but I just shrugged, completely unfamiliar with daycare protocol. As far as I know, premeditated preschool insurrections were fundamental aspects of daycares.

"I mean, as long no one gets hurt... sure?"

Helia grinned and turned back to the kids, announcing that the civil war was off times. The kids cheered and returned to their plotting.

"This is strange," Flora said, watching as Alex taught the others how to build a sword out of legos while others suggested turning the rocking horse into a cannon.

"You're telling me," I chimed as I sat in one of the cubbies. Flora sat in the cubby next to mine.

"You don't think..."

I turned to her as she trailed off.

"You don't think that Helia would be a good dad, do you?"

I watched Helia explain to the kids he was dining with how to placate an angry mob and when Bella suggested they give them invitations to their tea party, he ruffled her hair and pulled out some crayons to help her start writing them. I actually entertained the idea of Flora and Helia getting married, running the Carriage House together, and raising the triplets side by side. I had to admit that the image was idyllic, but I still saw Flora's face streaked with tears nearly six years ago as she watched him leave her. Even now, the boys were technically still on their mission. Who's to say the call of duty wouldn't call them away from us again, this time never to return? And who's to say that if they did return, they wouldn't be called away again and again and again? Who could say that? I couldn't.

"I mean, he's good with kids, Flo, but he isn't that dependable," I responded, trying my hardest not to hurt her feelings. "He still has a mission to complete."

She nodded dejectedly and went back to watching him plan a treaty with the one percent. I sighed as I watched her face fall. She looked old with a billion lives living behind her eyes. Even at our young ages, the battles we'd fought were taking its toll on us. The heartbreak we'd endured was imminent and impending. A collision between the two was inevitable.

I decided to leave then, offering to take the kids home. Flora jumped at the relief and after a round of calls, I piled them all into my van and headed for the apartment where an exhausting adventure was sure to await me.

* * *

I realized a few minutes into the car ride that taking all eleven kids by myself might have been a mistake but luckily, I had a few helping hands waiting for me at home. Unfortunately, some of those helping hands were the Specialists, the others were Flora's and Tecna's "boyfriends," and only one actual friend. I raised my eyebrows at the five men.

"We need to change our lock."

The kids rushed in after me and I counted their heads as they flew by to make sure I had all eleven. Noah smiled and lifted Bella as she ran into his arms. He sat her on his hip and walked over to me, sliding a box along the floor with his foot as he went.

"Mom sent a care package," the teen said as I lifted the heavy box and put it on the coffee table. He followed, as did Sky, Brandon, and Cody.

"Where's Tecna?" Cody asked as I set about opening up the box.

"Work," I replied. "Tell your mom I said thanks for all the food, Noah."

He nodded and went to go play with the other kids as I turned to the rest.

"Now what are the rest of you doing in my house?"

"Flora hasn't answered my calls. Where is she?" Griffin demanded. I quirked an eyebrow. That tone may work with Flora, but it doesn't get anywhere with me.

"She's been working," I replied. "Now get out of my house."

Griffin rolled his eyes and fell back on the couch, kicking his feet onto the coffee table. I was surprised that Stella didn't yell at him to take his feet off like she normally before I remembered she was still at work.

"Get your feet off the table," I muttered, pushing them off the faux mahogany out of solidarity with my friend. I mean, I usually kick my feet up on the table too, but Griffin was just too annoying to let it slide. He rolled his eyes again and put his dirty boots back on the table. Realizing that it was a futile effort, I focused my attention on the other three boys.

"What about you three?"

The reply came as a strange combination of "I can't find Bloom/Stella/Tecna." The three boys looked at each other in surprise. I huffed and turned on my heel.

"Well, they aren't here, so leave," I bit out sharply. Quickly turning back around, I amended, "Not you, Cody. Please stay for dinner."

Cody smiled sweetly and put his laptop bag down on the couch. Sky and Brandon scowled at him. He followed me to my apartment, which I found deserted as was Stella's apartment next door. I panicked for a minute before remembering the kids were with Noah. Cody and I headed to the backyard and the Specialists joined us at the base of the stairs.

"Do you know where Stella is?" asked Brandon, running a hand through his crimped hair.

"She should be at work," I replied as I stepped onto the back porch.

Outside, Noah was playing a game of modified Duck, Duck, Goose where the loser lays down in the middle and gets covered with blades of grass ripped up from the ground. I groaned at the new patches of dirt around our otherwise pristine yard.

"Ugh, Noah," I whined as I made my way over to the circle of kids. I helped Eddie off the ground and wiped the blades of grass off of him.

"Hey, munchkin," Cody said, waving awkwardly at the pink-haired boy. Eddie gave him a weak smile and went back to playing with Noah. Cody sighed and I sent him a sympathetic smile.

"Why does that kid hate me?" the lanky man asked as I headed back to the porch.

"'Cause you're a girlfriend-stealer," Brandon muttered under his breath. Sky elbowed him, but the king also gave the I.T. guy a dirty look.

"For the last time, I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Cody said. Apparently, they'd already had this conversation.

"Yeah, whatever," Brandon mumbled as he and Sky went back inside.

"How do you know those guys again?" Cody asked.

I sighed and answered, "They're just some old friends from the past."

Cody leaned forward and whispered conspiratorily, "Are they the, y'know... fathers?"

My eyes got wide and I shot to my feet.

"Them? What? No way. I don't... they aren't..."

Cody gave me a soft smile and said, "Okay. Whatever you say. At least admit to dating them."

With a heavy sigh, I sagged back into my seat.

"Yeah, we did."

"And the muscle-y brunet? Did he and Tecna... you know?"

I shook my head.

"No, Brandon used to be with Stella."

"Stella's your blonde friend, right?"

"Yep. Tecna used to be with Timmy."

"Is he the blond?"

"No, I don't think you've met him yet. He's a scrawny ginger with glasses."

"And he's back in town too?"

"They all are."

"Oh. So... how are you doing with all that?"

I gave him a weak smile, barely able to turn up the corners of my lips as I remembered the argument I had with the Riven at the Frutti Music Bar. How _was_ I doing?

"Okay," I responded meekly.

Cody was a good guy. He didn't really know me and he was only really there to find Tecna, but the few times we did see each other, he made an effort to talk to me like a friend. Tecna must have a thing for nice guys. I wish I did.

"That's good," he nodded, noticing I didn't feel like delving into it. For an I.T. guy, he was pretty empathetic. "I'm going to head home now, but can you tell Tecna I was looking for her?"

"Sure thing. See you later, Cody."

He left and I sat on the porch a while longer until Aisha walked outside.

"Hey."

"Hey. Why's Griffin on our couch?"

I rolled my eyes as I remembered that lump was still there.

"He's looking for Flora apparently."

"Is that why Sky and Brandon are interrogating him?"

I smirked.

"I guess. He deserves it. No good piece of trash."

Aisha nodded and took a seat next to me. She was wearing purple joggers and her hair was up, which I took to mean she had been exercising. A bead of sweat rolling out of her hairline confirmed my suspicions.

"How was your workout?"

She pursed her lips and replied, "A nice distraction."

Casting a side-eyed glance at Noah and the kids, she leaned forward and whispered, "I was practicing magic."

"Really? Where?"

"I went to the gym and I practiced in the lecture room."

"That's a little risky, A," I said, but I was jealous of the excitement her eyes. I missed magic, real magic.

She smirked and offered, "I'll take you with me next time?"

"Deal."

We both giggled and then Bay ran over to throw his arms around her.

"Momma!"

"Hi, baby. How was your day?" she asked him as she pulled him onto her lap. Marlowe toddled over as well and shimmied onto Aisha's other thigh.

Bay started babbling about everything they'd done at the Carriage House that day with Marlowe chiming in random, completely unrelated information at times. I grinned and stood, leaving the little family to themselves. Sometimes I wondered if I wanted another kid- not that it's really a possibility for me- but ultimately I decided that Tess was my one and only. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too spoiled. Speaking of, Noah called for a break and collapsed on the floor to catch his breath as the kids piled onto him, so Tess ran over to me, covered in grass and dirt.

"Hey, peanut. You're a mess," I laughed.

She looked down at her clothes and giggled.

"Mama, can you fix my pigtail?"

She sat in front of my chair as I fixed her hair. As soon as I was finished, she leaped up, declared she wanted juice, and ran inside. Bay hurried after her, and Marlowe toddled over to Noah to sit herself at the very top of the dogpile like a cherry on a preschooler sundae and Noah was the banana.

"So did you make any advancements?" I asked Aisha quietly. Her reply made me grin.

"I think that if I keep this up, I'll be able to fire an energy blast by the end of the week."

Just then, Sky came out with Bay and Tess each under one arm.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but maybe don't let them come inside?"

I tilted my head in confusion as he put the kids down.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, standing up.

"Um..."

The sound of glass shattering made us push past him and run inside, only to see Griffin and Brandon rolling around on the floor and throwing punches at each other. A smashed vase lay on the coffee table.

"Oh my Dragon! Brandon!" Aisha shrieked, rushing forward as she tried to break up the fight. She tugged at the specialist's biceps and used her foot against Griffin's chest to pry the two away from each other. I stayed back with Sky and the kids, knowing that I was nowhere near as in shape as Aisha and would have been smushed to clay by the two men. Aisha finally separated the two and held them both at arm's length. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

I hurriedly ushered Tess and Bay back outside and sat with them on the porch, trusting Aisha to take care of this one. Noah came over to ask what was wrong, but I waved him off. He got Bay and Tess back into the game, but the two kept looking over to the door in confusion. I couldn't blame them; I was confused too.

Putting my head in my hands, I took a deep breath and tried not to get angry, but the emotions were welling up in me again. It seemed that with the return of the Specialists came a whole slew of emotions I hadn't used in years. I felt like a hormonal teenager again. Even worse, I felt like a hormonal _pregnant_ teenager again. I just wanted everything to stop.

Aisha came outside and slumped on the porch next to me. I peeked one eye up at her and asked if they'd left. She nodded.

"What was that about?"

"Apparently, Griffin insulted somebody's honor, either Flora's or Brandon's."

I groaned, "Why can't they all just leave? I'm so sick of having the Specialists here."

"I don't know how much longer I can do this."

"Me neither."

"I hate what my life has become."

"Me too."

The two of us looked at each other with soft smiles of resignation. I had a flashback to a dark cave and a sort of friend in a dire situation. We'd been through worse. We'd always been through worse. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back and enjoyed the dying light of the sun, taking the moment of peace for what it was. Unfortunately, peace never comes to me in anything more than increments.

"Girls! Girls!" an excited voice shouted. Aisha and I turned around as Tecna ran out onto the porch and bent forward with her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths. Between pants, she explained, "I.. found... a... clue!"

Aisha and I shared a smile as we jumped to our feet and dashed up the stairs. Behind me, I heard Tecna groan.

"More running?"

* * *

"Okay, so what did you find?" Aisha asked as she peered out the window at the kids below. I could tell she was doing a headcount and when she was satisfied, she turned to face the two of us.

Tecna grinned and held up a paper with a bunch of indecipherable code on it.

"Uh... is that supposed to mean something to me?" I asked. By the look on her face, I knew Aisha didn't understand what was going on either.

Pulling out her enhanced phone, Tecna scanned the numbers and a hologram of a map appeared above the screen.

"Woah... what does it mean?"

"I think- don't hold me to this because I could be wrong- but I think this is a tunnel system."

Leaning forward to inspect the image, I asked, "Where did you find this?"

She bit her lip and responded, "I may have hacked Timmy's computer, but it was only by accident at first! I was tracking the signal when I noticed a nearby computer running on the same magi-wave. When I realized it was Timmy's, I was going to leave it alone until I saw something suspicious. He has two firewalls for two separate databases, almost like two separate computers. This one was behind the other. I think the boys aren't telling us something about this mission."

Aisha and I grinned and high-fived.

"That's my girl!" the water fairy whooped. Tecna blushed.

"Anyway," she continued, clearing her throat, "I haven't pinpointed your attacker yet, but I do think I know who they're striking next."

"How?"

She looked around the room skeptically.

"I don't want to say. Not yet, anyway. Let's wait until all the girls are here."

The three of us filed out of the room in silence, energy thrumming at our fingertips at the prospect of finally getting somewhere with this. When I find the girl who attacked Tess... just the thought was making my hands glow.

* * *

"Okay, so the locks are changed. The lock guy just left," Aisha said as she sauntered into Bloom's living room later that evening once everyone had gotten off of work.

"The kids are all asleep," Flora added, sitting next to her triplets asleep on the couch. "Now what was it you wanted to tell us, Tecna?"

Tecna looked around the room at us before making eye contact with me. I nodded.

"The Specialists' mission is bigger than they're letting on," she told the room. "There's something they aren't telling us."

"There's a lot of things they aren't telling us," Stella said with a roll of her eyes. Aisha let out a short derisive laugh. Tecna shook her head.

"No, something bigger."

The room went quiet. Prim made a low sound in her sleep and rolled over.

"I think that boys never meant to stay on Whisperia that long."

"What do you mean, Tec?" Flora asked in a soft voice.

"I mean, I always had my suspicions ever since Codatorta said the boys had 'grown attached' to their new lives."

I sucked in a pained breath at the memory. To my left, Bloom cast her eyes to the floor.

"But if that's true, why are they still so secretive? And why would they say their mission brought them here unless they're still on their mission?"

Bloom interrupted, "Tecna, that would mean-"

"They never abandoned us," Stella finished, golden eyes wide with realization.

"No, Stella, wait," I said. "There's more."

I nodded at Tecna, signaling for her to continue. She pulled out her phone and cleared her throat, pulling up the hologram from earlier. The Winx all leaned in to get a closer look, including me even though I'd already seen it before.

"I found it hidden in Timmy's computer. At first, I thought it was tunnel system," she explained, spinning the image so that we could see its layers, "but it didn't match any Whisperian tunnel systems I ran it against. I tried other sewers and caves, too, but again, no match. I couldn't understand what it was until..."

She paused. We watched her as she watched the diagram intently.

"Um, Tec?" Stella asked, but Tecna shushed her.

"Just wait for it."

We sat in silence for a few more seconds, watching the holographic blue image. I was starting to think Tecna had lost her marbles when one of the tunnels flickered and moved.

"There!" she exclaimed. Flora shushed her and cooed Vera back to sleep. Tecna smiled apologetically.

"Do you see what I mean?" Tecna asked in a much quieter voice.

"The tunnels change and that's why they didn't match any tunnel systems in your database?" Aisha offered.

"No, they aren't even _tunnels_ ," Tecna said with a grin.

"So they... wait, what?"

Tecna spun the image and showed us a different tunnel as it jumped and twisted around another.

"This pattern," she said. "They're portals."

"Portals?"

"Portals."

"Portals to what?" I asked. Stella went to poke at the hologram, but Tecna swatted her hand away. She zoomed in on the part of the map where the portals disappeared off the edge.

"If I had the whole map, I could answer that. See, all portal paths move like this but normally the doors- the portal roots and the portal destinations- remain fixated at one point," Tecna explained. "The only time portal doors really move like this, this frequently, is if the doors are people. But there's only one sort of portal that uses people as doors- blood portals."

The word hung in the air ominously, but we didn't know why yet.

"Now, I can't say this for sure," the technology fairy began tentatively, "but I think we are the portal doors."

"Are you saying that somebody has been using us to teleport?" Bloom asked, leaning forward on her knees.

"That's how they attacked us the first time," Tecna said. "Again, I can't say any of this for sure without the rest of the map. But blood portals are made with the blood of the intended target or the blood of both their parents."

"So... what? These people have our blood or something?" Stella asked, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms.

"Or the blood of our parents," Aisha added.

Flora stroked Toni's hair protectively and asked, "When would they have gotten our blood?"

"We need to stop them. These people have direct access into our lives," Bloom said, standing from the couch. "If they could get into Tess's room that easily, then we're all at risk."

I wrapped my arms around myself to resist the urge to run to my baby's room and hug her.

"If we're going to do this," Tecna said, leveling us all with a serious look, "we need to change."

"What do you mean, Tec?" Stella asked, but the tone of her voice suggested she already knew.

"We need to be the Winx Club again."

The six of us fell silent as we felt the fingers of our past selves pressing at us to take action, to take flight. The magic that had been sitting impatiently in my veins all day had moved to sit just beneath my skin. I was itching to use it after six years. I was itching to be a fairy again.

"Okay," Bloom said quietly. She gave us each a look and one by one we nodded in agreement.

When she got to me, I smiled and said, "Tell me what I have to do, Tec."

Tecna grinned and started tapping excitedly on her phone. A holographic blueprint appeared and took up the entire room.

"So I came up with a plan..."

As she went off into a slew of technical terms I didn't understand, I caught Bloom's eye from across the room. A small smirk was tugging at the corner of her lip. Standing there, arms crossed and feet set wide in a stance ready to take on the world, she looked just like the leader I used to know. The Winx were back.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review with some ideas (they can be stupid, _I encourage stupid ideas_ ) and also which point-of-view you want me to tell the story from next- Tecna, Bloom, or Flora?**

 **Love, Ru**


	8. The Winx Are Back

**Bloom**

Tecna groaned and dropped her head on the table. We'd been sitting in my living room plotting for hours and we were all starting to get on each other's nerves.

"For the last time, Stella, a flash mob is not a believable distraction."

Stella crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"It's not like anybody else is coming up with anything."

"We just need to distract Timmy, right? Not all of the Specialists?" Musa asked. "I mean, if we're going to get his computer, we just need him to leave it here."

"Well, he carries it with him everywhere, so if we can just get him here and then get him away from his computer, then we're gold," I said, trying to come with a solution.

"That's what I just said," Musa said irately.

I glared and replied, "I was extrapolating, Musa."

"Girls, don't fight."

We both looked at Flora and went quiet.

"What could possibly get Timmy away from his computer?" Tecna asked.

The five of us turned to look at her. Her eyes widened, immediately picking up on the shared idea in the room.

"No. No way," she said, shaking her head. "I am not spending time with that- that-"

"Tecna."

She looked at all of us and sighed.

"I'll do what I have to."

I put a hand on her shoulder and told her, "If you really don't feel comfortable, I'm sure we can come up with another way to distract him."

She shook her head and said with resignation, "No, this is my burden to bear. Just make sure you get that laptop."

"Stella, can you do that since you took off work?" I asked. The blonde girl turned red.

"See... I told you guys that I wasn't feeling well, but actually..." she looked at us, biting her lips, "I'm going on a date with Ismail."

I grinned and Flora cheered, "Stella, that's wonderful. _I'll_ grab the laptop because I'm off work tomorrow."

"Wait, you're off work?" Stella asked. "Oh, no, who will watch the twins?"

"I ca-" Flora began to volunteer, but Musa cut her off.

"No. Flora, it's your day off."

Stella groaned and crossed her arms.

"Well, somebody has to watch my kids."

"Stella, she sent out a notice," Tecna told her, pulling up the e-mail.

Stella pouted and said, "You know that I don't check my e-mail."

I rolled my eyes and moved to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water as the girls squabbled over who would do what. By the time I walked out, nothing had been solved. They say I steal the spotlight, but this team needs a leader so I stepped in.

"Tecna distracts Timmy. I'll take the laptop. Musa gets the Specialists out of the house. Aisha puts protection spells around the house and takes the laptop once I get it. Flora gets the night off with her family." Turning to Stella, who had opened her mouth to complain, I said, "And Stella goes on her date while Noah watches her and Tecna's kids."

"Thanks, girls," Stella said, grinning. She looked down and blushed. "I really like this guy."

Flora smiled and the two of us looked at each other. It had taken ages to get Stella back out there. She deserved some love in her life.

"Okay, so we're going to get the laptop and find out where those portals lead to," I stated, looking each of the girls in the eyes. "Musa, you'll get all the information you can out of the Specialists once they come over and Aisha, you make sure that all portals stop outside the house so that at least they can't teleport directly inside of our apartments. I'll get the laptop and Tecna will distract Timmy. Girls, we're going to take this mission into our own hands."

My speech made them smile and look at each other with an old confidence that I hadn't seen in a long time. Hopefully, that confidence would count for something in our success. Hopefully.

The girls started filing out, stating that it was getting late and they had a big day tomorrow. Flora asked to camp out on my couch, but I insisted that she sleep with the triplets in my bed and I'll take the couch. After a mild-mannered argument over that, I fell asleep on the couch, praying that the Great Dragon would look with favor upon our day. Goodness knows we need it.

* * *

Work was hell, as per usual. It was made even worse by the added bonus of Sky and Timmy lurking around the smoothie bar. I felt bad for taking so many breaks and leaving Roxy by herself for so long, but I couldn't handle his small talk. Not when I knew he was lying to me.

"Bloom?"

I dropped my cigarette as quickly as possible and stepped on it, careful not to lift my foot and reveal my secret. None of the girls knew and I couldn't have them finding out. Especially not now as we were becoming the Winx Club.

"Yes?"

Sky looked at me curiously and asked, "What are you doing out here?"

"Taking my break," I replied, arms crossed.

"Were you just smoking?"

"No."

I could tell he didn't believe me, but he didn't push the subject.

"Did you need something, Sky?"

"Yeah. What are you doing after work?" he asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his head in that way that always made me swoon when I was an idiot teenager. Great Dragon, I loved him so much.

"I'm busy, but Musa wants to take you boys to teach you how not to look like idiots on Earth."

He laughed in that princely way of his and said, "There will be no need for that, Bloom. Red Fountain is the number one school in the Magic Dimension for acclimation in an undercover setting."

"Sure thing, Mr. Super Spy," I said sarcastically, "but for a long time, Earth wasn't part of the Magic Dimension and, quite frankly, Brandon's hair looks ridiculous and you're all wearing clothes from the late 60s at the very least."

He picked at his shirt and pulled a face that made me laugh but I quickly stifled it. That didn't stop him from looking proud of himself. Idiot.

"And by the way, nobody still says radical. So tell Riven to stop saying radical."

* * *

"Gumdrop, I know you don't like clothes, but it's-"

My reasoning was cut off by the excited screeching of my five-year-old as he ran in naked circles around me. Flora and the triplets, all fully dressed to go out on the town, watched from the couch as I struggled to dress my son. I didn't even know where Isabella was.

"Hey, Bloom, are you... woah," Tecna said as she walked into the apartment with Eddie in tow, also dressed to the nines in a pair of suspenders and a bowtie. Eddie snickered behind his hands and ran to join Alex as he ran laps around me. I dropped the arms holding up the pants with a sigh. Tecna laughed and took a seat on the couch next to Flora. She called Eddie over to her and the boy trudged over to his mother and sat on her lap.

"I'll just be a second," I told my two friends as I chased Alex into the kitchen and eventually scooped him up in my arms. By the time he was finally dressed, I was breathless and sweating. I put him down and he began running circles around me again. "Flora, I have no idea how you do this for a living."

Flora laughed.

"Trust me, sweetie, neither do I."

Bella walked out of the hall, sleepily rubbing her eyes and dragging her blanket behind her after her nap. She shuffled over to the couch and curled up between Tecna and Flora, pulling her blanket her body and falling to sleep. The girls and I laughed and I walked over to her to gently shake her awake, but Alex beat me to it and jumped on his twin, making her cry which in turn made Prim start crying for whatever reason.

"Oh, dear," Flora muttered as she fussed over her youngest. Meanwhile, I berated my son for making his sister cry while Eddie tried to comfort Bella by patting her on the head, only serving to make her cry more.

"Thank you, Eddie," I said as Alex went off to sulk for being scolded. Tecna just kept laughing as I lifted Eddie's hand off Bella's hand, coercing her off the couch while explaining why clothes were absolutely necessary. Of all eleven of them, my twins were the only ones who absolutely abhorred clothes. It was definitely giving me premature grays, but as I watched Bella struggle to put her dress on upside down- "I can do it, Mommy, I promise"- I knew I wouldn't change them for the world. Miss Independent eventually gave up and let me help.

Stella strutted into the room in a miniskirt and a blouse with stilettos longer than my life expectancy. Her hair was done up in a fancy ponytail with a diamond barrette holding back her hair. We 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed as she sashayed to the center of the room and did a spin.

"Wow," I said, walking a circle around her. "You're going to drive him wild."

Stella blushed and smacked my arm but did another spin anyway.

"Thanks," she said, rubbing her arms in a show of uncharacteristic nerves. "I hope he likes it."

"I know he will."

"Who's that?" I heard Toni whisper behind me.

"It's Tía Stella," Vera whispered back. His little mouth made an 'oh' shape in realization and then he smiled.

"You look wonderful, Stella," Tecna reassured her. "Doesn't she look wonderful, darling?"

Eddie nodded, turning red and looking out the window. We laughed and Stella's phone rang.

"Noah? Hey, what's up?... What?... Oh my- is she okay?... No, no, don't... Yeah, I'll tell the others... I appreciate you letting me know... okay, bye."

She turned us, eyes wide.

"Girls, Roxy was mugged."

"What?!" I exclaimed jumping up from my seat and Prim nearly started crying again. "Is she okay?"

"Noah said she was fine, but he was going to cancel to be with her."

"We have to go see her," I said, already rushing to grab my purse. A cold hand around my wrist stopped me.

"Wait, Bloom," Tecna said. I looked back at her teal eyes, stern and reasonable. She leveled me with a serious look and reminded me under her breath, "The plan."

I sighed and said, "Okay. The plan. Okay. We have to just... ask Brandon to watch the kids."

"What?!" Stella screeched.

"Stella-"

"Why him?! Why not Helia or Timmy?"

"Timmy's going to be... occupied tonight, remember?" Flora said with a nervous glance to the kids. "And Helia's... going out with us."

We all turned to her with wide eyes. She blushed.

"He gets along with the kids."

We just stared.

"Oh my Dragon, I get it, okay?" she said with a huff. "It's just... girls, he's still Helia. And I want to spend my day off with him."

"Whatever, Flo," Stella said. "You're an adult who makes her own decisions, but think about the kids."

"Maybe I don't want to," she muttered.

We stared at her in shock.

"That didn't come out right," she said in a soft voice. "It's just- never mind. Forget I said anything. See you later, girls."

Then she walked out of my apartment with the triplets in tow.

"What was that about?" Musa asked as she walked into the room. We stared at her blankly, at a loss for words, so she just shrugged and said, "Whatever. I'm here to takes the kids for their play dates."

Leaning down, she asked Alex, "Are you excited to play with Christopher?"

He didn't answer and instead stuck his finger up his nose.

"Alexander Michael Spears!" I exclaimed. "Stop digging for gold or so help me!"

He pulled his finger out of his nose and giggled, running excited circles around me. Musa laughed.

"Come on, you snot-nosers. Into the van!"

The kids cheered, but Tecna covered Eddie's ears.

"Musa, don't teach them to respond to that!"

Musa only laughed and led Tess, Bay, and my twins down the stairs. A while later, once Musa has returned, Aisha came up to announce that the Specialists had arrived. Tecna took a deep breath.

"Time to shine, girls."

* * *

"Because no one crimps their hair anymore, Brandon!"

I sighed. We'd been having this argument for a good few minutes now, but the boys would not take this slight to their pride.

"My studies actually show-"

"Timmy, don't even start. You are wearing cat-eye glasses."

The computer geek fell silent at Stella's retort and the boys finally stopped protesting.

"Okay, if we're finally done with that, I need everybody to get in the van," Musa said with a sigh. Musa went to grab her keys, so Brandon shot his shot in the few minutes she was gone.

"So, Stella, how long will I be watching the twins for?" he asked good-naturedly. I could see from across the room that he was struggling to keep his eyes on her face. Apparently, Ismail wasn't the only one her outfit would drive crazy.

"Uh, a few hours. That's okay, right?" Stella asked, nervously adjusting her earrings. "I'll pay once I get my paycheck in. I promise."

"No way. No payment required," he insisted. "You're my friend, Stella."

That statement made everyone in the room feel weird, so we all collectively stopped eavesdropping. I instead focused my attention on Tecna leading Timmy up the stairs with some promise of a technological problem upstairs. I scanned the room and saw his laptop case sitting on the couch. Through the window, I saw Aisha performing a spell. Everything was going according to plan. Wait.

I rushed to the window and motioned for Aisha to move, but she didn't see me. No matter how high I waved my arms or how silly the dance I did was, she was focused on doing her big magic displays right in front of the window for everyone to see. What to do, what to do...

Running back to the foyer to the Specialists, I did the only thing that came to mind. I screamed.

"Oh my Dragon!"

"What the fuck?!"

"Bloom!"

"Are you okay?!"

"Riven, language!"

I blushed. At least Aisha had heard me and ducked under the window.

"Sorry, guys. I thought I saw a bug. False alarm."

Unfortunately, that was the wrong excuse.

"Bug!" Stella shrieked. "Oh my Dragon, where?!"

She jumped into Brandon's lap and because fate hates me- I'm looking at you, Bartleby- the door opened to reveal Ismail right at that moment.

"Uh, hey, guys. What's going on?"

Stella quickly disentangled herself from a smugly smiling Brandon and wrapped her arms around Ismail.

"Oh, darling, you missed it!" she wailed. "There was almost a bug!"

"Almost a bug? I'm confused."

"Aren't we all?" I laughed awkwardly, which didn't help at all because everyone just stared at me. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when Musa finally came in with her keys.

"Hey, guys. Ready to go. Bloom, are you good?"

I sighed.

"Yes, Musa. Thank you for the concern."

Either the sarcasm went right over her head or she pointedly ignored me, because she just said, "No problem, B. Come on, boys. Load up."

And suddenly it was just me and Brandon.

"So... uh, where are the kids?"

I looked around before saying, "I think they're in their room."

He nodded and made his way upstairs.

"Wait, do you know which room?"

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "I think so."

He started in the right direction so I shrugged and let him figure it out. Creeping over to the couch, I grabbed the laptop case and dashed upstairs, tucking it away in my closet. Aisha came up soon after me.

"The spells are placed."

I nodded and she pulled out the flash drive Tecna had given us to hack Timmy's laptop. Locking the door to my room, we plugged it in and let it do all the work. We got bored, however, because all the work took an unexpectedly long amount of time.

"So..."

"So."

We fell silent and watched the screen.

"Uh, Bloom?" a voice called from outside. Standing up, I walked out to my front door to greet Brandon with one twin in each hand. I quirked an eyebrow so he just explained, "I don't know how to watch children."

I rolled my eyes and invited him in. Eddie trailed behind him.

"What do they mean when they say babbo?" he asked exhaustedly as he collapsed onto the couch. The three kids watch him unamused, as did I.

"I don't know. I don't speak Italian," I shot back, picking Lilly up when she asked me to.

"They speak _Italian_?" he asked incredulously. He dropped his head back on the couch and groaned, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Babysitting," I replied sternly. "This is what it takes."

Sitting up, he said, "Well, whatever 'babbo' means, they won't stop asking for it."

"Babbo!" Lilly giggled, pointing at Brandon and making Arty giggle as well.

"Have you tried asking them what it means?" I suggested, switching Lilly to my other hip.

"Asking them?"

"Yes, asking them," I confirmed, rolling my eyes. "They're children, Brandon. Not imbeciles."

Turning to Lilly, he asked, "Lilly, what does babbo mean?"

She just giggled and repeated the word.

"Oh, yeah," I remembered. "Lilly loves keeping secrets and lording it over people. Arty, what does babbo mean?"

Lilly glared at her twin, who shrank under the gaze of the room, and he quietly whispered, "Daddy."

My eyes bulged out of my head so wide that I thought they were going to fall out. Brandon started choking on air.

"I- it's- what?"

Arty blushed and hid behind my leg. I half-heartedly patted his dirty blond hair to comfort him, but my mind was going a mile a minute. He can't find out. He can't find out. He can't find out.

"Eddie needs to pee!" I blurted.

"No I don't," the four-year-old argued, crossing his arms.

"Yes. You do," I insisted, raising my eyebrows at him. Eddie pouted and went up to Brandon, asking if he would take him to the bathroom. In a shell shock, Brandon stood and let the little boy lead him to the bathroom. I sat the twins down on the couch.

"Who told you that Brandon was your babbo?" I asked the two kids, squatting at their level. Lilly shrugged, disinterested in the conversation, and Arty fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Nobody," he said, crossing his legs awkwardly.

Lilly huffed and said, "I wanna go home."

"Brandon can take you back when he's done with Eddie," I explained, sighing and sitting on the floor.

"Eddie's annoying," Lilly complained, and then the conversation deteriorated from there so I stopped listening.

The situation was a catastrophe. If Lilly already put the idea in Brandon's head, he'll be much quicker to piece it together. What are we going to do?

"All done," Brandon announced as he walked in with Eddie holding his hand. Eddie ran to join the twins and I strode over to Brandon.

"Listen, Brandon. About earlier-"

"I get it," he said, looking a little heartbroken.

"You do?" I asked, fear gripping me.

"Yeah," he said with a dejected shrug. "I'm the first man they've been around for a long time. It's an easy mistake to make."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, totally. That's it. Nailed it on the head."

"Anyway, I'm going to get going," he said, beckoning the three kids over. He led them to the door and counted them as they walked out, making me laugh. He looked over his shoulder at me with a halfhearted smile and said, "Thanks, Bloom."

"Anytime."

He went to close the door but stopped himself.

"Bloom?"

"Yes, Brandon?"

"You girls are pretty tough for raising these awesome kids on your own."

He looked fondly out the door where the kids stood and I saw true care in his eyes. It made my stomach anxious, but my heart warm.

"Yeah, we are. No thanks to you guys," I said, in a lame attempt to stop him from winning me over. Brandon was just too charming to be alone around. He could have two nations at war acting like friends in minutes. He could definitely break my resolve.

"You're right. No thanks to us."

My eyes widened in surprise at his admission. He just smirked and winked. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly, he became bashful.

He looked around a bit before looking me in the eye and asking, "Does Stella hate me?"

I sighed.

"I wish."

He nodded and closed the door. When I was sure he was down the hall, I rushed to my bedroom to tell Aisha all about what happened.

"You're kidding?!" she gasped. "What are we going to do?"

"He seems pretty beat up about it."

"Why? He should be elated."

"Because, Aisha, the love of his life's kids just called him Daddy when he knows they aren't his," I explained.

"But they are."

"Well, we know that, but he doesn't. And we have to keep him from figuring it out."

"How are we going to do that?" she thought aloud, sitting on the bed.

"I have no idea."

A beep made us jump and looking over at my bedside table. The laptop was ready.

"Let's hack some portals!" Aisha said with a cheesy grin that made me laugh. Whatever happened, we would be okay.

* * *

An hour later, Aisha and I were lying on the floor in a haze, still trying to make sense of the puzzles of portals that Timmy had on his computer.

"I found one!" Aisha announced, jumping up and sending her bun flopping over to the side of her head. "It's not the right one though."

I groaned and sat back down on the floor. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't seem to find the other end of the portal we were looking for.

"Dragon, I wish Tecna was here," I said, crawling over to sit beside Aisha on the bed.

Aisha nodded in agreement and slid a hologram over to me so that I could help her with the portal she was working on. That's when a shriek from down the hall sent us jumping up from the bed.

We ran down the hallway as fast as we could and threw open Stella's door. Down another hallway within the apartment, we found the source of the panic coming from the twins' room. Aisha kicked open the door and we found Brandon standing in front of the window while the kids cowered behind him.

"What's going on?!" I called over the screams of the kids.

"Look!"

We looked out the window and saw a cloaked figure like from before pushing at a pink force field near the window that stretched with every push but didn't let the figure through. They began casting spells on Aisha's shield.

Aisha asked, "What do we do?"

I held up my to fire a spell at the same time lifted a sword to shield the kids hiding behind him. Aisha followed suit.

I summoned the Dragon Flame to my hand and felt it rise up in me. The heat coursed from somewhere in my chest through the muscles in my shoulder all the way down my arm. It was pooling in my palm and sprawling out into my fingertips. The blast sparked out of my hand and fizzled out a few feet away from my face.

"Wh-what happened?"

"You need to practice," Aisha said. "For now, just take the kids and get out of here."

Shaken, I grabbed all three kids and took them to my apartment, where we hid between the couch and the wall.

"Auntie?" Eddie asked. "What's happening?"

"I don't know, buddy," I replied, ruffling his pink hair. "I really don't know."

I felt a tug on my sleeve and turned to Arty, who quietly pointed to my bedroom door. I looked between the door and his face in confusion. Then I noticed the faint blue glow coming from the cracks between the door and its frame.

"Oh, buddy, that's just-"

And then it clicked.

Quietly, I stood up from the couch and when I saw no creepy, cloaked figures floating outside the windows, I crept from the living room to the hallway with the three kids in tow. I slowly made my way to the bedroom, opening just a crack because it creaks when it's opened too wide. One by one the kids slipped in and then I went last.

Inside, the portions of the portal map were holographically floating. One portal was going insane, wiggling this way and that. On a hunch, I assumed that that was our blood portal.

"Kids, find the holograms with the squiggly worms and slide them this way."

Eddie set about the task immediately with the twins following reluctantly afterward. Eventually, I accumulated enough puzzle pieces to configure the map of what we needed.

"This... doesn't make any sense," I said, looking at the full map. "There are... three blood portals?"

* * *

 **So... thoughts? And for the one person begging for Stella and Brandon, I tried my best. There will be more next chapter.**


	9. Goodbye, Gardenia

**Tecna**

I collected Timmy's clothes in a pile as I waited for him to leave the restroom. He walked out beaming, but his smile dimmed when I handed him his clothes.

"You know, I missed doing that," he said timidly as he got dressed. My back was to him, which was illogical because I'd already seen everything. Still, I couldn't will myself to turn around.

"What?" I asked, ever-curious and insatiable. "Having sex or having sex with me?"

He tapped my shoulder, so I turned around to face him fully dressed. His cheeks were burning and his head was ducked, looking up at me over the tops of those stupid cat-eye glasses.

"Same thing," he said with a shy shrug. I refused to mull over the implications of that.

"Wish I could say the same," I retorted, perhaps a little too harshly. In all honesty, it had been good, but in my time on Earth, I'd had better. Not Timmy, though. It was better, but it wasn't Timmy.

"Obviously," he shot back, gesturing to a picture of Eddie nearby. That made me uncomfortable. Had that picture been watching us? It made me sick to my stomach.

"What did you want me to do, Timmy? Abstain?"

"You could have waited a little longer. I mean, you had Eddie right after I left."

My heart constricted. He was looking at me, waiting for some response. I could tell he was baiting me and he got me.

"Who was it?"

"Timmy-"

"Tell me who it was."

"No."

He was getting frustrated, the way he would on missions when he had already solved the problem but was waiting for the rest of the team to catch on. What did he want me to say?

"Come on, Tecna."

"I don't know what you want from me."

"You've never been able to lie to me."

"I don't-"

"He has my eyes!"

I blanched. My breath was growing shallow. I couldn't see anything except my feet because I refused to look him in the eyes. Those fucking eyes.

"Just tell me the truth."

"I am."

"No, Tecna."

Just then, the building was shaken by the force of a massive explosion. Timmy and I looked at each other before racing towards the source of the sound. It was Stella's apartment. We met Bloom at the door.

"The kids-"

"Are safe in my room," she finished, alleviating my initial worry.

"What's going on?" Timmy asked.

Bloom toed the door open and replied, "One of those evil people are back."

"But the plan-"

"No, Tecna, it worked!" Bloom said as we rushed to the twins' room to join the fray. "I've fixed the puzzle."

I didn't have time to be excited because I was thrown into a battle. Brandon was deflecting spells haphazardly as Aisha desperately threw energy blasts, trying to land one on the unscathed cloak-wearing figure. Bloom shot off some minuscule fireballs. Timmy pulled out his blaster. I felt utterly useless.

"What do I do?!" I cried, falling back onto Bloom like I always did in the heat of battle. Luckily, she hadn't forgotten the old patterns either.

"Get to the kids. Find out how far out the others are. Make sure everyone's okay."

I nodded and ran to her apartment, fighting with the knob for a bit before finally just zapping the shoddy workmanship and running to her room where the children were sitting in a heap on the bed.

"Mother!"

Eddie ran to me with open arms and I scooped him from the ground, kissing his pink head a million times.

"Is everyone here? One, two, three... yeah, okay."

A blue light caught my eye. Turning, I saw the hologram pressed up against the wall. The finished puzzle towered over me.

"She finished it... but the portals-"

I didn't have time to inspect the portals because a loud explosion set all the children off screaming.

"Shh, shh. Guys, come on. You need to stay quiet."

Once I got them all quiet, I pulled out my phone and dialed Musa's number.

"Hey, Tec. What's up?"

I could hear the Specialists arguing in the background.

"Under attack. Get the kids. Bring them home."

"Oh my Dragon, yeah. Okay."

She hung up the phone and I called Flora.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?" she asked softly.

"Get to the house as soon as possible. We're under attack."

"Goodness!" she exclaimed. I heard her faintly tell Helia something before assuring me that they were on their way.

Attempts to call Stella sent me straight to voicemail. I growled in frustration and shoved the phone in my pocket. The doorknob turned and I gathered the kids behind me, summoning what little power I had to my hands.

Noah slipped into the room and shut the door behind himself.

"What the hell is going on?" he insisted, striding across the room to hold my hands and look into my eyes intently. His black eyes searched mine in total fear. I sighed.

"Noah, what are you doing here?"

"Roxy wanted me to check on you guys. Something about- something about... something. What's- what's happening?"

"Noah, I can't really explain right now, but I need you to trust me. Stay here with the kids."

He licked his dry lips nervously and nodded. I smiled and grabbed the hologram of the portal map, absorbing it into my phone and turning to leave. A pair of tiny arms around my leg stopped me.

"Mother, please don't go."

I looked back at the tiny head of pink hair that was holding me back. Crouching down to his level, I put my hands on his shoulders and said, "Eddie, Mother loves you so, _so_ much. That's why I have to go."

"Then don't love me so much."

"What do you mean, darling?"

"If you're leaving because you love me, don't love me so much."

That made me laugh. I pulled him into a hug and told him, "I'll be right back, I promise. Stay with Noah until I'm back and listen to what he says."

When I pulled back, there wasn't any fear in his hazel eyes. Timmy's eyes. Noah pulled him back from the door and I slipped out. I ran and didn't stop until I reached the front door where Flora was pulling into the driveway.

She got out of the car and asked me what was going on as I ran toward her, but I didn't answer. Instead, I went straight to the back seat, where I opened the door and grabbed the first triplet I could get my hands on. It was Toni.

Turning to Helia and Flora, I ordered, "Grab a kid and get inside quick."

"Tia?" Toni asked as I put a hand on the back of his head and tucked his face into the crook of my neck. I sprinted to the front door, hoping that Flora and Helia would just do as I say without asking questions. When I got inside, I took Toni to the kitchen and sat with him behind the counter so we were out of view from any windows. A second later, Flora joined me with Prim and lastly came Helia with Vera hanging onto his back like a monkey.

"Did you lock the door?" I whispered to him.

He nodded and began to ask, "What's going-"

An explosion cut him off and Prim went to scream, but my hand flew to her mouth. Flora's eyes widened in shock and she turned to me to ask something (probably to ask what the hell I thought I was doing), but I held a finger to my own mouth, signifying that everyone should be quiet. I could only hope Nick was handling the other kids okay.

"I should go help," Helia whispered, passing Vera to Flora. He pressed a kiss to Flora's forehead before he stood and slipped his glove on. Now it was my turn to be shocked. Flora blushed and avoided my gaze, focusing instead on adjusting her two girls on her lap. I tucked Toni between my legs and decided to focus on the issue at hand because I was honestly not in a place to judge.

Toni turned around in my lap and asked me, "Tía Tata, what's happening?"

I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "We have to be very quiet so the witches don't get us."

When I pulled back, his little face was twisted in horror. For a second, I wondered why the expression seemed so familiar to me, but then I realized I was just seeing Flora in his face. I'd seen her wear that expression so many times. A swell of emotions surged up in my chest that I had to choke down.

"Where's Eddie?" Prim asked, wide-eyed as she looked over to me.

"He's safe," I told her, unsure if I was lying or not. I couldn't dwell on that. I had to trust that Noah would keep him safe.

"Are we safe?"

The front door was flung open before I could answer Prim's question. Sky stomped inside with Alex curled in his arms. After him came Riven with Bella, Musa with Tess, and Nabu balancing Bay and Marlowe in either arm. Explosions were now going off violently upstairs. They shut the door and I waved them over. They all tried crouching behind the island with us, but it didn't exactly work.

"Where's Helia?" Nabu asked.

"He's upstairs," Flora answered.

"We should go help," Riven said. He went to put Bella down but she cried out and wrapped herself around his arm. "Kid, you've gotta let go."

Bella just squeezed tighter.

"Kid."

"Riven, she's not going to let go," Flora said as Riven struggled with the blonde toddler. Riven glared at Flora, but she didn't shrink on herself like she used to. That seemed to unsettle him, but I didn't have time to dwell on that.

"How did they even find you guys?" Sky asked.

I shared a look with Flora and Musa before shrugging and saying, "Who knows?"

Riven groaned and sat down on the tiles.

"What now?"

"We have to get out of here," Flora said. "We can't stay here."

"Flora..." Musa and I said at the same time.

With a sigh, she said, "I know, girls, but there's no life left for us here."

We didn't say anything because we knew she was right. I was still mad to see the self-satisfied grins on the Specialists' faces.

My phone rang.

 _B_. _Špėãrš_

I answered the phone.

"Bloom?"

"Get the kids in the van and get ready to ride."

"Bloom, the-"

"We'll distract them," she said quickly, already knowing what I was going to say. "Just make sure Noah gets in there too."

"Okay. I'll see you there."

I heard a thud come from upstairs and Bloom hung up, but I couldn't worry about that.

"Back in the van," I explained. Musa and the Specialists groaned, having just come from there, but Flora tentatively stood and looked over the island, checking for anyone in the window.

She took Vera and Prim by the hand and led them to the door in a low-to-the-ground crouch. Musa and Nabu followed with their respective kids. When I went to stand, I knocked heads with Sky.

"Tecna, are you okay? I'm so sorry."

The room was spinning, but I waved him off and made my way to the door. It was wide open and from where I stood, I could make out the fuzzy shape of Flora hurrying her girls into the van and Musa following with Tess. Damn. Sky sure had a hard head.

Just as we reached the porch, Nabu ran out with Bay and Marlowe and practically vaulted into the van. I looked to my right and saw Noah rushing down the stairs with Arty in his arms and Lilly and Eddie running on either side.

"Mother!"

I held a finger to my lips as he jumped onto me, wrapping himself around my leg again. The sudden weight got me off-kilter and I nearly fell over. I steadied myself on the wall and shook my head to steady the room, but that only made my headache worse.

I wanted to carry Toni and Eddie, but I didn't have nearly as much practice at carrying two kids at once like Flora and Stella did. Crouching down to Eddie's level, I said, "Can you stay here with Noah, darling? Can you do that for me?"

My brave boy nodded and watched as I sprinted out the van with Toni in my arms. Once he was tucked safely into his seat, I turned to leave the van, but Riven grabbed my arm.

"I'll go," he offered. He must have noticed the way my eyes were unfocused and my breathing was shallow. I honestly didn't think Sky and I had knocked heads that hard, but my body was saying otherwise; I could feel my eyes swirling in their sockets. Still, my baby was inside.

"We both go," I countered, pulling my arm out of his grasp.

I ran out of the van before he could stop me and dashed inside. The explosions on the other side of the building had gotten less aggressive, which was more worrying than it should have been. Where were they if they weren't battling?

Noah rushed towards me with a volley of questions as I came inside.

"Are we being bombed? What's going on?"

"What did I say about trusting me?" I reminded him.

"Right, right, sorry, I just..."

Noah trailed off, but I could see from the way that he was carding his fingers through his hair that he was freaking out. I couldn't blame the kid; stuff like this didn't just happen in Gardenia.

"Listen, Noah. I get that what's happening right now is scary- trust me, I do- but you need to pull it together."

He nodded just as Lilly stomped her foot and exclaimed, "What's going on?!"

I held my finger to my lips and said, "Lilly, you have to be patient, okay?"

Riven was suddenly right behind me. He grabbed Lilly and I grabbed Eddie, hugging him to my body. He hid his face in my shoulder. Together with Noah, who was still holding Arty, we ran to the van. One by one, we climbed inside, strapped in the kids, and waited. The explosions shook the house. Musa started the van.

"We should go help," Riven said, moving for the door, but Nabu yanked him back down.

"The kids are _here_ ," Nabu reminded him, looking back at the terrified five-year-olds filling the van. "That means _we_ stay here."

My phone buzzed with a text from Bloom again.

 _Tell Musa to get ready to drive._

I relayed the message to Musa and not even a second later, Bloom, Stella, Timmy, Aisha, and Brandon all came running out of the house at once. They hurried into the van, which was now _way_ over its carrying capacity, and crouched against the floor.

"Where's Helia?" Flora asked. Her brows were creased with worry as she watched the door, waiting for the pacifist to appear.

"He's on his way," Timmy replied.

I looked away as I felt his eyes land on me intently. The only reason I didn't burst out of the van right then and there was because of the attackers. And because Bloom was sitting in front of the door. In any other circumstance, I would have _bolted_. Timmy was the last person in the world that I wanted to talk to. I couldn't stop wondering if he had told the other Specialists about what he had discovered. From the looks on the other guys' faces, it didn't look like they'd recently had the life-changing revelation that their ex-girlfriends' kids were _their_ kids all along. Unfortunately, the Specialists were now also masters of espionage apparently, so looks can be deceiving.

The house was suddenly very still and not a second later, Helia was running out the door, shouting at Nabu to "fire it up," whatever that means.

At the same time that Helia ran into the van, Nabu popped open the fire escape at the top of the van and pulled himself onto the roof with sheer upper body strength. I also caught Aisha drooling at Nabu's muscles, but I'm not going to be the one to bring it up. It's not like I'm in any place to judge.

The hooded figures came flying around the house just as Nabu started chanting in Androsian. A portal opened up down the street.

Musa heeded Nabu's orders and went flying out of the driveway. Her rickety old van did a J-spin and whipped like a slingshot into the portal. Prim started crying just as the portal closed behind us. I looked around the van at the kids, who were all crying now; the Specialists, who were doing a poor job of trying to discreetly hold the Winx's hands (except for Brandon, who managed to get Stella to grip his hand back); and the other girls, who looked scared out of their minds. Still flooring it through the space-time continuum, Musa burned rubber on the fabric of time and shot through the exit portal, sending us all careening into Magix Square. The van screeched to a stop as everybody on the streets, in the shops, and in the sky went still. We stared out of the windows at the people staring back at us, confused and concerned.

Turning to me with white knuckles and wide eyes, Bloom said in a shaky voice, "Tecna, I don't think we're in Gardenia anymore."

* * *

 **I love it when I spell Specialists wrong and, instead of correcting it to Specialists, Autocorrect decides that what I'm trying to say is Episcopalians.**

 **Please review! People are constantly asking me to update, but then when I do, I don't get any reviews. It sucks, guys.**

 **I hope you like this new chapter. I know it's a long time coming and I'm sorry about that. Let me know in the reviews what you think should happen next. Also, I'm sorry it's so short.**

 **Love,**

 **Ru**


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